Glitched
by Myriad of Pixels
Summary: Lucia's simple existance is turned upside down when another User falls out of the sky - Literally. However, it becomes quite clear to Lucia that this User isn't who he says he is. In her search for the truth she'll have to brave harsh climates, insular empires, and strange visions to find truth in a land worlds apart from the one she once knew. It's not going to be an easy journey.
1. In the Beginning

**A/N: Hey! Myriad here, and this is my first fanfiction! I hope you all enjoy it, and that I did a decent job. Also, I just want to make clear that there are only two points of view right now: Lucia's and 3rd. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to read, and hope you enjoy! **

**Also, if you have time, I would love a review. I'd like to know what you think about my writing style, characters, etc.**

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Lucia's POV

The sun began to set in the sky, casting a warm reddish orange glow on the forest below. Leaves on the trees glowed in the late light, and beams of radiant hues danced across the water like liquid fire. I was blissfully unaware of the coming night, more focused on herding my cows back to the pasture by my stronghold, and the dim-witted animals weren't being very cooperative. At that very moment, I had been struggling with a particularly stubborn cow who had decided to graze on some tall grass. It refused to move, and it almost looked like it enjoyed making me mad. I shoved it again and glared at the creature, saying "Gracie, you obstinate creature, just move! You'll be able to graze once we get back!"

Gracie, the cow, showed no sign of listening and moved on to the next block of grass. I barely restrained myself from hitting her. _Every day, that same, stupid animal slows me down. _I thought sourly, giving it another death glare. She ignored this, so I gave up momentarily on moving Gracie and chanced to look up. The sun had almost sunk on the horizon. I realized that if I didn't hurry, I'd be out at night. _Out at night._ I felt an chill course through me as I realized that it was rapidly nearing that time. I wasn't sufficiently prepared. At all. Heck, I didn't have a shovel or pickaxe on me, much less my bow and arrows. All I had with me was a bucket, shears, and wheat. _Wait… wheat? Wheat! Of course! The cows will certainly follow me now._ I took the wheat from my inventory and waved it in front of Gracie's face, mentally slapping myself for not doing that earlier. Almost immediately, the animal's attention was attracted and the bovine's head snapped up as if on a spring.

Now sprinting, I held the wheat in my hand and led the five cows with me homewards. I swear, it was almost scary how fast they chased after me. It was as if I were holding diamond ore or something.

We made it back to my grounds just as the last lights disappeared from the sky, and the my pastures and stronghold - well, not exactly a stronghold, just what I call my house - came into view. I let out a sigh of relief; perhaps I would get off easy tonight and not have to face off with any mobs.

But, alas, I was completely wrong.

Just as I shut the gate to the cow's pastures, I heard a low moan. "No, not a zombie… Please no…" I whispered, feeling my muscles freeze in terror. Something sounded like it was approaching her with heavy footfalls. Something that was definitely not a cow. Having nothing else to, well, defend myself with, I stuffed the wheat back into my inventory and gripped my bucket tightly. I still did not want to turn around, but I knew I would most certainly built up her courage, and then turned to face the offending undead.

It reached towards me with a blank stare, seeming hungry yet pitiful. I almost felt sympathy for the wretched demon, cursed to mindlessly wander in search to kill the living. I put the thing out of its misery with a quick blow from the pail, and I watched it evaporate into smoke, dropping experience orbs and rotten flesh in its place. Slightly repulsed, I left the flesh where it lay, and made a desperate sprint for my house. Another zombie got in my way, and I barely managed to dispatch it before a spider leapt out from a nearby tree towards me, mandibles snapping and eyes aglow.

With pure, raw fear fueling me, I leapt over the spider and brought my bucket down in its head with strength I didn't have. It let out a screech of agony and leapt back, and I relentlessly beat it in the face until it curled up and evaporated, leaving behind its usual spoils. I picked them up quickly and continued my hurried flight, hearing the moans and hisses begin to fade behind me. When I finally reached the beginning of my torch-lined path, I saw the light-fearing mobs back away from me warily, eyeing the torches. I smirked slightly and started to walk leisurely back to my "stronghold", thinking of possible ways to taunt the mobs. Then I got an idea. A childish, dangerous, and stupid idea, but a fun one. Brandishing my bucket, I started back towards the mobs, grinning almost scarily. Some of the mobs glanced at the bucket and then at each other, and the arachnid mobs began to scuttle away. The zombies, however, being the brainless creatures they are, surged forward. There were about four, and I prepared myself for their arrival.

The mobs didn't stand a chance. They all fell prey to the bucket, and I was enjoying the sense of superiority, not to mention the adrenalin that was coursed through my veins when I fought mobs. As the last of the undead evaporated, I couldn't stop myself. I struck an overly dramatic pose and crowed to the heavens, "Can't touch this! Come on! You want a piece of me? Huh?"

Nothing moved. All was silent, almost as if there were no mobs in the world at all. "Yeah, you all are cowards. I get that. If you don't mind, I think I'll go attend to more interesting matters." I taunted, trying to see if I had angered anything.

Still nothing. "Huh," I muttered, looking around suspiciously, "I guess they're done for the night."

Again, I spoke too soon. An arrow impaled itself in my shoulder, and I cried out in pain as it dug into my flesh, and my vision flickered as my nerves registered the pain. "Skeletons," I muttered, beginning to break out in sweat. I knew I was most certainly not equipped well to face off the archer-mob, and wasn't going to accomplish anything trying to do so. Another arrow whizzed towards me, this time missing me by just a hair. It flew past my ear, making me flinch before embedding itself into the cobblestone path underneath me.

I made a run for it, hoping I would make it back before I got killed. I heard sounds of pursuit, and knew that the creature could easily pick me off from a distance, so the torches would be little protection from the things. I thought she heard more than one, and that thought was soon confirmed as several arrows zoomed around me. Luckily, none found their mark, though some came terribly close.

Not a moment too soon, I felt her hand wrap around the doorknob to my house and bolted inside, shutting the door and placing a cobblestone block in front of it for good measure. I let out a sigh of relief; It didn't seem like the mobs were going to break in. _Of course they wouldn't, they're too stupid to think of things like that,_ I reassured myself, looking out a window cautiously. I couldn't see anything out there, but was sure I was not alone.

A throbbing pain in my shoulder alerted me to more pressing matters, and I set about the delicate task of extracting the arrow from my shoulder. Gingerly, I wrapped my slender fingers around the shaft and pulled. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as I removed it, flinging the thing away in disgust when the task was done. Quickly and rather ravenously, I took a cooked steak out of a chest nearby and ate it. Immediately, the pain in my shoulder eased, and I sighed slightly as the adrenalin rush began to fade. However, before I went to bed, I inspected my clothing, looking at it's horrid state somwhat sadly. It was bespattered with blood, and torn in several different places. I was going to have to mend it soon. I changed quickly, and sighed as she looked out the window. Skeletons were hiding behind trees, and zombies were wandering around the grounds aimlessly. The spiders were nowhere in sight. Probably afraid of me after the slaughter of one of their kind. However, something about my situation felt… incomplete. I knew just what that empty feeling was. "I wish I knew if there were others like me. I don't even know of much past the forest," I muttered sadly, gazing off into the distance.

Shaking the feeling away, I sat down on my bed, tired and worn. I didn't even bother putting up my stuff; I just collapsed on my bed and passed out, my last conscious thought a prayer to Notch that I wouldn't be ripped apart in my sleep.

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"No. I refuse to do this. I will not be controlled again." Amber eyes glowed with fury as he faced the darkness around him.

"You haven't a choice. I want the users out of here, and you're going to help me." A voice flowed like silk from all around him, seemingly without a source.

"Why don't you drive them out yourself? Why don't you show your cowardly face and stop using me as a pawn?" Amber eyes scanned the area, furious but slightly scared. Pale fists clenched as if ready to fight, knuckles turning white.

"Why should I? It is entertaining and... fitting that you should destroy their empire." The voice laughed, humorless, "Besides, I think you are doing a better job with the 'grunt work' than I would."

"You ... monster. I won't do anything like that again. I will find a way to control myself." Fury burned strong in their voice, and they began to tremble violently with barely contained rage.

There was a pause before the voice growled, "You will do as you always do. Already you destroyed many of the Users. Why should the few remaining ones be able to help you? They, like the ones before, will perish, and, this time, I will have no use for you after, save I will show you off to... I will not share that now." The voice stopped itself, "Nevertheless, you are going back. I have no instructions for you, save, do what you do best. Now, go have fun!"

The voice's sarcastic and cruel tone echoed in the air as the world fell out from under them, and they let out a furious roar, angry at their plight. Then the ground came into view, and they closed their eyes, bracing themselves for the impact.

The pain was excruciating.

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**A/N: So, whaddya think? If the last part is a bit confusing, I'm sorry. I'm trying to keep from identifying either person/thing, so the paragraphs are pretty vague. Also, if I'm not totally accurate about the game, I'm sorry, but I'm also taking a bit of creative liscense. XD**

**As for the plot, what is your opinion so far? I'd love to hear in a review. :)**

Well, see ya'll later! Myriad, out! :p


	2. A Stranger

**Hey, guys! **

**Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a new chapter for you guys, and I hope you enjoy!**

**Thank you to The Inner Titan and Gracekelly12 for putting this story on their alerts, and to Me Says So and The Inner Titan for your kind reviews! Your reviews were greatly appreciated, and I have a fun little naming contest coming up if you wish to participate. (Check the bottom of this story for details, if you want. :D ) Actually, I may have a bunch of name contests or "voting", and perhaps an SYOC ****_later_****_ on_**** in the story.**

**So, a quick little notice before I start this chapter. Things may not make sense in the beginning, but I wanted to say that all will become clear in the end, and that one is not supposed to know what's exactly going on right now. After all, this is my OC's point of view, and she hasn't a clue of what's going on either.**

**So... yeah, without further ado, I present to you chapter 2!**

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I opened my eyes slowly, relishing the lingering feeling of sleep. I smiled slightly, stretching leisurely and I made my way to a window and looked out. The day was beautiful and bright and new, a perfect day for... Adventure. I grinned as I thought of the fun I'd have that day, and all the prospects of it. I could come across many different things, whether it be a mine, a waterfall, or even finding another user, I would be sure to find something of interest. I hadn't gone out of the forest as far as I could remember, and the idea of leaving was somewhat scary yet inviting.

However, I knew it would be suicide to go without being prepared._ Let's see, I need a pickaxe, a shovel, a bow and arrows, some food..._ I mentally listed supplies as I rooted through my chests and even crafted some of the items mentioned, also grabbing my beat-up stone sword and my leather armor. Never know when you'll need those, even though there's something to be said for their terrible quality. Realizing I had momentarily forgotten about breakfast in my excitement, I grabbed a loaf of bread and wolfed it down as I packed, eager to get underway.

After stuffing all of these things into my inventory, I headed out the door, carefree and full of energy. The world around me seemed to be calling for me, begging me to come explore. I sped up, enjoying the slight breeze that whistled through the trees, as I started to think about which direction I would travel in. After a moment of indecision, I decided to walk through the forest rather than over the plains, as I believed I had seen deserts not far off in that direction, and the last thing I wanted to do was go die of thirst. However, I hadn't seen anything in the thicker part of the forest, and this alone intrigued me. I had made up my mind. I was heading north.

Shouldering the pack I had shoved all my stuff in, I walked quickly but steadily through the forest, conserving my energy. I was prepared for a long trip, but I didn't want to exhaust myself unnecessarily. I passed what I thought were the remains of the skeletons that had attacked me last night, and picked up the arrows and bones left behind, knowing I could put them to good use.  
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As the sun climbed to its zenith, I began to feel discouraged. It felt as if the forest went on forever. Nothing but aspen trees and oaks were to be found, save for the occasional rose or dandelion, and whatever unfortunate pigs came my way. To put it bluntly, I was going to be eating pork for lunch. As I was about to shift direction and give up hope of finding something interesting when traveling north, I felt the air around me start to grow cooler.

It was a slight change, at first, but soon I found myself shivering slightly, and I put on my armor to trap my body heat. Then the foliage around me began to change, the flowers becoming sparser and the trees being of darker leaves and bark. _Are_ _those actually _pines? I wondered, stopping and looking at one with awe. I had read about them, sure, but never expected to actually see one. Then something very, very cold and wet landed on my cheek. It could only be one thing.  
Snow.  
It was snow. Real, pure snow.  
I finally put two and two together and figured out that I was, in fact, in the taiga biome. The place I had only dreamed about traveling to. Who knew it would be so close to home?

Immediately, I got out my journal and began to sketch the landscape I saw and draw close-ups of the flora around me. I worked quickly, elated but determined to record everything as quickly as I could. Eventually, my impatience got the better of me and I stuffed the book back into my inventory, tired of standing still. I simply let go, laughing like a child as I dashed through the snow carelessly, scooping some off the ground and fashioning it into snowballs. I made a good twenty or so, and then stuffed half into my inventory, hoping they wouldn't melt when I got them out at home.

The others I began to chuck aimlessly at random targets, some hitting and some missing.

Thud.

Snow exploded against a tree trunk.

I hurled another.

A startled yelp comes from the direction in which I hurled the snowball.

Was that a wolf? I wonder, cautiously jogging towards the sound. My footfalls crunch as I move through the snow, making me wince. So much for stealth.

Soon I spot the creature I thought I had hit, and my breath catches in my throat. It really was a wolf! I stare at it for a moment, contemplating the likelihood of it standing still long enough for me to sketch it. Then it turns to stare at me. I leap backwards, making the mistake of showing fear.  
It cocks it's head at me, an unfriendly expression in its eyes. It starts to stalk towards me, and I hear a low, soft growl emit from its throat. Then there is not the sound of just one growl, but _two. Oh, Nether. What have I gone and gotten myself into now?_ I thought to myself, feeling less and less confident by the second. _There has to be a way to work myself out of this…_

I took the moment to search through my inventory, and looked for anything helpful. My eyes settled on the bones, and I started to remember a passage of a book I'd once read:

**_If you chance to come across a wolf that is not hostile - that is, it's eyes do not glow red - you will be able to tame it by feeding it bones. _**

Hoping that information hadn't been fiction like some of the other things I've read, I took out a bone and offered it to the nearest wolf. Almost at once, its expression began to change, from a hostile stare to curious. It sniffed the bone gingerly, and then took it gently from my hand. As it devoured the bone, its eyes became wider and -in my opinion- cuter, and a red collar materialized suddenly around its neck.

"Sit," I told it, hoping it would understand my commands. It sat, surprisingly.

But I had forgotten about its companion. Upon seeing its pack mate change, it had trotted up to me and stared at my hand, waiting for me to give it a bone. I still had one left, so I decided that another pet wolf wouldn't hurt to have.

Soon I had two eager canines traveling after me, tongues lolling and barking happily as I continued my trek to nowhere in particular. I felt as if I had accomplished something great, and actually had two companions to be with other than the numbskull cows at home.

_Home. _The word made me stop, and, as I could tell it would be sunset in a few hours, and I thought about how nice it would be to be at home, reading a book by the fire in the sitting room…. _What sitting room?_ I snorted contemptuously at my naivety, as I only had two rooms in my house, and there certainly wasn't enough space for a "sitting room".

All homesickness forgotten, I headed up a large hill with eagerness to map out the terrain. The two wolves followed me, looking at me with adoration. "You guys want to come with me?" I asked them, though the answer was obvious. One cocked its head adorably, and I smiled a bit at this. "Wait, wait, wait. You guys don't have names."

Neither of the wolves responded, and I began to think of suitable names as we walked along. "Well, both are male, so… Argentum and Titanium? No, too… metallic…. Maybe…" I muttered random names to myself as we neared the top.

I shut up the minute I reached the summit of the hill.

A huge mountain loomed over the terrain straight ahead, tall and majestic. It touched the clouds, almost going above them. But that alone wasn't enough. No, there just had to be a **giant fortress** at the very peak.

The citadel must have been hundreds, no thousands of blocks long; the towering walls were made of dark blackish purple stone that looked as if it had been close to impossible to mine. I hadn't a clue what the stuff was, and it was impressive, to say the least. The walls were so thick that there were walkways along the top, lined with flaming torches. I also assumed that the walls were large enough to have small rooms in them, great places to hide during a siege and to snipe from, if they had any windows. I could not actually see the top of the building in the center, and some sort of golden light seemed to be pulsating in the clouds above it. _Maybe it was part of the tower? _I wondered, contemplating whether I should venture over or not. Whatever dwelled in there seemed ready for war.

However, it was seemingly deserted. I saw no signs of life around the place, save the flicker of torches. _How odd… this is not a village, as I have read about what those look like… I've never read anything about this… _I stared at it for awhile, as if trying to uncover its secrets from a distance.

_Well, I'm not going to figure anything out just standing here,_ I resolved, taking my sword from my inventory. My chance had finally come to explore something, and I'm sure that the chance to explore big, somewhat scary citadels didn't come everyday. Gosh, I wish I hadn't thought of that just then, as my resolve almost crumbled.

"No. I'm going," I said to myself insistently, startling the two wolves who had become accustomed to my silence. They too had been staring at the wonder before us, but seemed more excited to go in than I did.

I got down the hill rather quickly, but I stopped in the small, snow covered valley as I came upon what looked like remains of once-beautiful brick and stone cottages, now crumbling and coated with snow. Some were missing sections of their walls, and in others some of the walls had crumbled or… wait… were those burn marks? What on earth could have possibly done _that_? I looked around the devastated area, marveling at how I'd managed to overlook this place of dilapidated and destroyed homes.

My boots slogged through cinder and snow as I walked around slowly, feeling more and more apprehensive as I ventured on through. Suddenly, my boot caught on something and sent me sprawling in the ash and frost. As I got up, I saw the old, worn blue-black cover of a book by my feet. _That must've been what I tripped over_, I thought to myself as I picked it up. I resisted the urge to open it as a slight chill of fear coursed through me. I was not alone. I shoved the book in my inventory as I unsheathed my sword, looking about uneasily and scanning the landscape for signs of hostile mobs or less than welcoming others. If there were still people here.

There was still nothing in my sights, and I began to relax slightly. Maybe I was just being overly paranoid. Technically, this was my first real adventure, and I had no idea what I was up against. I looked up at the sky, wondering if I should head on. If I went back home, I would be a coward, but it would be better to be a coward than to be dead. As I was pondering heading back, something inexplicable and incredible happened, a sight I will never forget for the rest of my life.

The skies seemed to be ripped open as a blackness began to swallow part of the sky, growing larger by the second. I should've run, hid, anything but stood there like the idiot I am, staring upwards, paralyzed and open-mouthed. The black continued to spread, staining the once gorgeous heavens an evil purple-black color. A violent wind picked up, tearing at my hair and going straight through my clothes. I was sure I was shivering, but my attention was more focused on the object falling from the sky. _What the Nether...?_

At first I couldn't make out what it was, it being so far away it was almost impossible to see it. As it came closer, I thought it might be a meteor or something, but no.

It was a User. At least, I was pretty sure it was.

And they were going to have a heckuva landing when they reached the ground, not to mention they were hurtling straight towards me. Wait, what?

I let out an incredibly-high pitched scream and dove out of the way as the User slammed into the blocks on which I had been standing on just seconds ago; and there was a sickening slamming noise as they connected with the earth. I didn't dare to turn around for a long while, long enough to hear the person groan and shift slightly. At this point, I did turn around, feeling concerned for them, but nervous and wary. Was he even a User?

As I walked towards him - as I ascertained he was of male gender by the looks of him -, two amber eyes snapped open at the crunch of my footsteps, unfocused and dull. He himself was tall, with somewhat pale skin and raven black hair. His features were well-defined and sharp, but the most striking thing about him was his presence. There was something… cold about him, cold and unstable, enough to put me on edge even though the boy was clearly in no shape to attack me. Shaking the feeling off, I bent down by him, asking, "Are you all right? What exactly just happened?"

The User stayed silent for a long time, so long I thought that he might not be able to speak or had damaged his head. Then he opened his mouth, his voice dry and scratchy, "I haven't a clue how I ended up here. Who… who…" he turned his head away from me and started to cough heavily, and when he turned his face back to me, a thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

Slightly disturbed by this, I managed to respond, "I'm Lucia. Who are you?" I waited for his response, which came slightly faster than the first. "You may call me Glitch."

I thought it was an odd name, sure, but it was nothing compared to the expression in his amber eyes. They flashed with fury and sadness as he spoke it, but they became an impassive mask the second after.

Those eyes… they disturbed me. They were almost animal.

I snapped out of my reverie when I noticed the boy had gotten up. "Hey! Be careful! You fell from several blocks above; it's a miracle you're still alive! Shouldn't you eat something?" I exclaimed, wondering why he was so nonchalant about falling from such a height. Notch, if I'd fallen that far, I'd be in hysterics, if I were still alive.

He ignored me as he surveyed the area, his features expressing anger and a slight amount of fear as they settled on the obsidian fortress. "We need to get out of this cursed place," he muttered, grabbing my wrist with an iron grip.

"Hey! What do you think you're-"

"I said we need to get out of here!" Glitch growled, looking at me with his almost feral gaze.

I was shocked into silence, and followed him wordlessly as he moved quickly towards the forest. As the sun started to move over the horizon, I wondered what sort of mess had I just gotten myself into. _This is what comes of being adventurous, brick-brain,_ I thought sourly, following the other User wherever he was headed. I was bursting with questions, but it didn't look as if I'd get any answered anytime soon.

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**So, that's the chapter. Whaddya think? I'd love a review telling me your thoughts. (But be nice about it, please. ;) )**

**Also, I mentioned a bit of a contest. Well, as you read, Lucia's having a hard time coming up with names for her pet wolves, so if you'd like to try and help her out, feel free to post your suggestions for wolf names in a review, or if you wish, PM them to me instead. If I like the name, I will do my best to use it. Here's how I'll decide the wolf names:  
1) Appropriateness. 'Nuff said.**

**2) Characteristics. Both are typical grey wolves, so I'm probably not gonna name one Gold.**

**3) Gender. They're both male, so I'm not gonna name one Sparkle. Not even if begged. :p**

**4) Random. If I get a lot of good names, I may just choose two at random. It's nothing against you if your's aren't picked, it's simply "the luck of the draw". **

**But please do enter! I need help!**

**Thanks again for reading, and hope to see you all soon!**

**Cheerio!**

**Myriad, out.**


	3. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

**Yeah, so this is Chapter 3, which I'm very happy to present. Sorry you've had to wait so long, I've been crazy busy with school and many other activities that go on in my life. Well, without further ado, I'd like to thank Me Says So and The Inner Titan for their reviews, and I chose one of your suggested names each when I found out a little something interesting. From Me Says So's names, I chose Terra, and from The Inner Titan's, I chose Caelum, because, in Latin, I figured out that Terra means Earth and Caelum means Sky or Heaven. So a bit of a cool contrast there.**

**Also, please, please drop a review if you're reading this, as I know that several people have read this story, but haven't bothered to review. And that's a little hard on my morale.**

**So, yeah. Enjoy. :)**

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I looked at the other User as with a mix of uncertainty and distrust once we'd gotten a good distance from the citadel. He seemed to know the terrain of this biome quite well, and he scanned it with the eyes of an expert. I didn't know why, but it unsettled me.

"Hasn't changed a bit," I heard him mutter under his breath, and, thinking we'd gotten far enough away, he immediately let go of my wrist and his arm dropped to his side. I looked down at my wrist and saw an angry red mark circling around it; my eyes widened as it didn't fade. What was with that? He must've really wanted to get away.

"Come on!" A barked order came from ahead, and I could barely see Glitch through the undergrowth, annoyed-looking and seemingly impatient to keep moving.

"Why? What's-" He didn't listen, and moved right along, expecting me to follow him. I did, to my derision.

Neither of us spoke after I caught up with him, until I noticed the light begin to fade from the sky rather quickly. "We need to build a shelter."

He turned around to face me, and said, "We will do so when we get farther away. Come on."

"No." I surprised myself with this blatant response.

Glitch looked at me in disbelief. Slowly, he asked, "Come again?"  
"I said no. I'm not going anywhere until I half-understand what's going on," I demanded stubbornly, looking him defiantly in the eye.

Glitch shifted uncomfortably, and I was about to speak again when he said, "That place just felt… wrong. I had to get away from it. And I don't know what's going on _either_," he paused, adding softly, "You said I fell from the sky?"

I had disbelieved his explanation until the very end. He seemed sincerely confused, and I couldn't blame the guy; perhaps I was being harsher towards him than I should be. "Yeah, you did," I replied quietly, still staring at his eyes for any trace of emotion. There was none. Then another question came to mind, and I asked, "Well, if that's true, how do you know the terrain around here so well?"

Glitch replied smoothly, "As I said before, it's some sort of instinct. Happy now? Or do you need to know-"

"Geez, sorry!" I cut him off before he could continue. His eyes smoldered briefly with a bit of anger and… was that desperation? I was slightly confused by this, but my train of thought was almost immediately interrupted by a hungry-sounding whine that came from beside me. I turned, and one of the wolves was sitting, staring at me intently with his head cocked. "What?" I asked it, wondering what it wanted. Then the other joined in, begging for… for something.

"They're hungry, Lucia. Got any food on you?" Glitch explained, somewhat irritated by the wolves' incessant whining.

I flushed slightly at his tone, feeling like the tables had turned._ That's karma for you,_ a voice said in my head as I dug through my inventory to get out some pork for the dogs. Taking two slices from my pack, I threw them to the dogs while Glitch watched impatiently. The sun had gotten lower still, and it was becoming a sort of twilight.

"We'll need to make up for lost time, I suppose," I told my companion, who merely nodded. This time he let me lead, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

_Okay, so this guy seems to know this place like home, but then says its 'instinct'. This isn't odd at all,_ I think, looking straight ahead of me as I walked. _I have to know what-_

"Terra, kindly stop pulling on my pant leg; it's not something you ought to do, if you know what's good for you." I turned to see Glitch addressing one of the wolves, who apparently found it amusing to chew on the hem of Glitch's trousers. Surprisingly, the wolf let go, and managed to look somewhat ashamed of himself.

"Terra?" I finally asked him, turning to give him a curious glance.

"It's his name. The other one's Caelum." Both wolves' ears picked up at their respective names.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that," I said, giving him a small smile, for once. He actually looked as if he was about to return it, but caught himself and scowled. Why was this guy such a pessimist?

The trees around us began to grow more and more familiar to me, and just as it got dark, I saw the familiar pastures of my house. But something felt off. Shouldn't the sun have set a good half hour ago? I'm pretty good a measuring time, and the day had felt abnormally long. _Maybe that's just because of the stressful events of today, _I reasoned with myself, eventually dismissing the thought.

"Well, this is my place," I tell Glitch, who looks somewhat surprised.

"Really?" He asks, eyeing it somewhat disdainfully.

"Well, do you have anyplace better to spend the night?" I asked him, irritated.

"Well… not exactly-"

I cut him off, saying, "All right, then. You'll have to live with my mediocre building skills until you can go make yourself a castle, since you seem to be able to do better."

He flinched at my biting words, and I felt a little bad for snapping at him, but, hey, this was my house, and I didn't like how disdainful he seemed whenever he looked at it. I'd like to see him do better, I thought. Whoa, I was getting defensive. Pretty out of character for me, but he just got on my nerves with his permanent scowl.

I walked into the house and left the door open behind me, and heard the wolves and Glitch come in behind me."I guess I'll be sleeping downstairs tonight," I said generously, getting an extra bed out of a chest and putting it into my inventory.

"You don't need to do that. I-" Glitch stopped himself, and continued hastily, "I-I'll sleep down here."

He said it with a sort of finality, and I didn't argue. I just tossed him the bed and climbed up the ladder to the second floor. Somehow, my wolves came up with me, but I was too tired to really care how they got up; I just collapsed on my bed and fell into a dreamless slumber.

88888888

The sun was well above the horizon when I opened my eyes, and I cursed myself for having slept in for so long; the cows didn't let themselves out to graze, after all, and I needed them for their milk. However, when I looked out the window, someone had already turned the cows out, and I stood there for a moment, not registering the sight before me. _Who could've… Glitch! It had to have been him! _I realized, and quickly descended the ladder, and again, Caelum and Terra followed me. "How do you guys do that?" I asked them, getting nothing but derpy stares in return. I thought as much.

The bed in the lower room of my stronghold had been removed, and there were dying coals in my furnace. Glitch must've cooked something for himself before going out and tending to the animals. But when I looked out the window again, he wasn't out there, and I didn't remember seeing him the first time I saw the animals out.

_Odd. Something feels off. Did he let the animals out? Or… No, I most certainly wasn't going to think about such terrible things, no… _I tried in vain to keep myself calm, but I was getting a bit worried. I headed outside immediately, looking around my grounds. No sign of Glitch at all.

Now I was definitely worried. Maybe I had imagined him? Or maybe he'd left… It _wouldn't surprise me if he left,_ I thought bitterly. _He wasn't that friendly to begin with. Ah, well, it's not my problem; let him do what he wants, _I had decided that he'd left and, after that, didn't really give him another thought.

I kept myself busy, and shortly after eating I headed to the forest to go chop down some wood. I cleared around twenty trees before I saw the sun begin to creep towards the horizon, and decided that now would be a good time to head back.

That's when I heard footsteps. _Was it…?_

Yes, it was indeed Glitch, as it turned out, and he hadn't a clue I was nearby. He was headed back towards my stronghold, looking mighty pleased with himself. A spark of annoyance grew in me as I saw the expression on his face, and I decided that it might not hurt to take him down a notch.

I followed him silently back to the grounds, grinning inwardly at the fact that I had left the door open on my house. Glitch saw this and started to jog to the stronghold, and I couldn't see his face, but I knew he probably wasn't smirking anymore. He ran into the house, looking around quickly and then heading up to the second floor. Quietly, I entered, keeping quiet and hiding by the ladder. I heard him moving around upstairs quite loudly, and frantic footsteps alerted me to his coming back to the ladder. "Lucia?" I heard him call out as he descended, and his voice sounded somewhat concerned.

I gave this no regard, of course. I just grabbed him by the ankle.

This turned out to be a mistake. Within a few seconds, he had pinned me to the ground and was holding a strange-looking sword to my throat. I let out a small utterance of surprise and fear , and then Glitch seemed to realize it was me. His expression changed at once from worried and slightly scared to angry, and he said coldly, "And what exactly was that for?"

"Er…" I had no answer, and his eyes burned with a frigid looking light.

"I hope you won't be doing that again. Anyway, I had come to show you something. You must've been wondering where I was."

"Well, sort of-"

"Then come with me," Glitch turned from me and headed back out at very quick pace, and I had to jog to keep up. On the way there, I noticed whatever sword he'd attacked me with earlier had disappeared. _Oookay then, _I thought, wondering just what it was that Glitch wanted to show me. Terra and Caelum followed, looking slightly hungry, but cute as always.

We came to a clearing in the wood within a short amount of time, and I stopped and stared in shock at what was before me. A two story, proper-looking house made of wooden planks, pine, and glass was the object of my wonder, and it looked absolutely perfect, like the houses I'd read about some of the better-written books I'd come across. "Wow… did you make this? Today?" I asked him, amazed.

"What do you think?" Glitch grinned, possibly for the first time I'd seen him, "You told me to try and make a better house, so I did," He continued jokingly, looking at the house with satisfaction.

"I… I must say you've outdone me," I replied, mock hanging my head in defeat.

"Why don't you check out the inside? I've even put a finished cellar in for myself, and there's a lot of spare room on the first floor for chests and bookshelves."

The moment he said the word "bookshelves", my interest was immediately refreshed, and I was about to tell him I'd love a tour when I heard a noise from right behind me.

A very faint hissing.

* * *

**Oooh! A creeper! Or is it? Feel free to share your predictions, thoughts, ideas, etc. in a review, and I'd love to hear from you guys!**

**IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT!: If you've bothered reading my whole chapter, here's a little reward. I'm gonna be hosting an SYOC relatively soon, and I'm gonna officially start the send-in around chapter 4 or 5. However, because I'm a nice person, I'm gonna go ahead and give you the sheet to fill out to make your character so you can get a head start. Mind you, I have a few requirements:**

**1) I'm trying to keep all the names Latin (or "Roman") for now. Yes, I know Glitch isn't a Latin word, but I'd prefer your OC to have one. If you need help with a Roman name, feel free to check out for names, which is where I've found some good ones in the past. If you can't find a name that suits your character, I will allow you to send them with a non-Latin name, but I may change it.**

**2) Chances are, I'll end up killing off one or two characters. Possibly even 3 or 4. In the sign up, I will ask you if it's okay for me to kill your character off. You have total control over that, but your character has a greater chance of ending up in my story if you give me an O.K. to do with them what I will.**

**3) Please try to be descriptive. It doesn't have to be much, but please don't say things like Hair: brown, Eye color: brown, Clothes: Normal skin. I want to see originality, and I want to know how _long_ their hair is, and please, elaborate on their clothing. What color is their shirt/Pants/ Skirt/Dress/whatever they're wearing. Same goes for personality and history.**

**Though there are a lot of rules, I want to say that your character will more likely than not have a very important role, and prehaps even be featured... *plotting smile***

* * *

**Edit: NO LONGER ACCEPTING ANY CHARACTERS. I have all the characters I need for now, thanks. :)**

** Well, I'd say I oughta go now, so see you all next chapter.**

**Myriad, out.**


	4. I Need Answers

**Hi there, dear friends and readers! I updated quickly today, 'cause I had a bit of inspiration, and I hope you like this! I'm in a bit of a hurry, so there's not gonna really be an A/N, but this is gonna be sort of a teaser for what is to come. I probably will come back and edit this as well, but, as I said before, I really wanted to publish it.**

**Oh, and a shout out to Me Says So and MyCookiesAreEpic! You guys rock! [Titan, you too, but you didn't review! :p]**

* * *

_Hiss…_

I saw the next few seconds in fragments.

_SsSSssssS…_

Glitch turns slowly, surprised…

_SSSSSsSSSsSS…_

I turn around to come face to face with the most feared mob of all time…

_SSSS… BOOM!_

I flinched and closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. But it doesn't come. I open my eyes very slowly. Didn't that creeper just explode?  
Evidently not.

A magenta colored creeper stood in place of where I saw a regular one just moments ago, and it's facial features expressed slight confusion and a bit of concern.

"What the heck!" I leapt back with a shout, whipping out my bow and looking at the creeper with distrust and bewilderment. Why didn't it blow up? Why was it looking at me like that? And why the heck was it PINK?

Glitch looked as surprised as I was, but seemed less wary of the mob than I did. He glanced at me and shrugged before turning back to look at the mob. It eyed us for a moment, seemingly confused and hurt by our slight hostility.

_What did I do wrong?_ I heard these words in my head, and let out a small gasp.

"Did… did you just _talk_?" The creeper nodded in affirmation to my question.

_Yes. I can talk, and can speak your language. Well, sort of. I think I'm tele… telepatik…_

"Don't you mean telepathic?" Glitch corrected the creeper's butchery of the word.

_Yeah, whatever it is! _ The creeper agreed.

I let out a giggle at the ridiculousness of the scene. Here we were, talking to a creeper and correcting it's pronunciation, when a sane person should never even approach one. Both User and creeper turned to look at me incredulously as I cracked up, and, when I finally calmed down, the creeper asked, _Are… are you okay?_ It looked somewhat weirded out.

"Y…yes…" I panted, still chuckling a little.

_Okay…_ The creeper didn't seem convinced.

"You have a name, right?" Glitch asked quickly, before I could make more of a fool out of myself.

_Yep! It's- _ the creeper let out a succession of hisses that ranged from loud to soft, and long and short.

"Uh… I don't think we can remember all of that…" I said somewhat awkwardly.

_Oh, sorry! Kinda forgot you guys aren't really able to speak my language. I'm Conflagitus. _The creeper gave them a small grin and walked closer to Lucia and Glitch. _Who are you?_

"Lucia and-"

"Glitch," He interrupted me, smiling at the creeper.

_Nice to officially meet you! _Conflagitus hissed happily. _So, is this your house?_

"It is now. Glitch just built it." I replied, glancing at Glitch as I said this.

"We should probably be going inside it right now, too," Glitch said quietly, eyeing the quickly setting sun. There were only a few rays of daylight left.

"Right… I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Conflagitus?" I asked the creeper. Friendly creeper or no, I wasn't feeling too happy about having him in our house.

_Okay! Also, you left your cows out, but I'll take care of that._ Conflagitus reminded me, and at that moment I was quite glad I had a creeper friend to guard them.

"Thank you!" I told him before I heard an impatient noise behind me, and I turned to see Glitch pointing at the horizon. It was twilight now, and moans and groans could be heard in the distance.

We ran to our new house quickly, and I slammed the door behind us as soon as we got in. Then I looked around the place like a kid on Christmas Day. The area of the floor was probably around 70 blocks or so, and I wasn't going to bother to try and figure out how many blocks high the ceiling was. As I walked around, I came up with good places to put crafting tables, a furnace, several bookshelves, and possibly even a stonecutter.

After I had finished telling Glitch about my plans for putting the first floor to use, he asked, "Would you like to see the second floor?"

I nodded eagerly, and he gestured to the dark wooden pole in the center of the room. I had thought it was a support or something, but now I saw the ladder going up one of the sides. "Is… Is that thing safe?"

"Probably not." Glitch shrugged, "But I don't think that really matters."

He was right; I honestly couldn't care less whether it was safe or not. I climbed up the ladder and carefully opened the trapdoor that lead to the upstairs of the house, Glitch right behind me.

It was far more modest than the downstairs, with only a three by three block area, but that didn't bother me a bit. The view…. the view was going to be incredible at sunrise. The place had wraparound windows, and I couldn't ask for any more than that in my room.

There was even a bookcase.

"You know, it's scary how much you know about me, and what I like," I told Glitch lightheartedly.

"Well, you're pretty easy to read," he said matter-of-factly, earning a withering glance from yours truly.

"Notch didn't grant you any politeness or subtlety, did he," I shot back, half-joking.

He winced, and I thought I might've actually hurt the guy's feelings until I saw... was that fear in his eyes? After a second, he growled, "Do me a favor and don't mention that name like that, okay?"

"Uh... all right..." I was somewhat confused at this outburst, but it almost got predictable. The kid was weird, anyway.

There was an awkward silence until I let out a small yawn, and seized the chance to say, "Y'know, we might as well go to bed. I'd say we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, moving our stuff in."

He nodded and wordlessly climbed down the ladder, and then opened another trapdoor at the foot of this ladder and went down into what I supposed was his room.

"A 'goodnight' may have been in order!" I shouted down to him.

The trapdoor on the first floor slammed shut. "Thanks, pal," I muttered as I shut my own trapdoor. If I get up during the night, I really don't want to fall twelve blocks. I climbed into bed, listening to all the sounds of the night. It was awfully dark in my room, and I decided that I really ought to put a torch up here. _Okay, what was that?_ I heard a moaning noise nearby, and, terrified, I dug through my inventory to find a torch. Thank Notch, I did find one, and I immediately lit it and put it on top of the bookcase in my room. A zombie had somehow managed to end up on the roof, and was moaning outside one of my windows. "Just lovely," I said out loud, turning away from the disgusting mob. Eventually, it must've fallen off or something, because within a few minutes, it actually got quieter outside.

I sighed and began to feel fatigue flood my limbs, and I finally let sleep take me.

888888888

The sky was dark and grim, and the grass looked dead and was bespattered with blood. The destroyed village was around me; this time the buildings were somewhat whole, but smouldering and several had begun to crumble in the intense heat. It was eerily quiet, only echoes of the struggle that had happened before remained; the echoes of clashing steel, the _thwwikk_ of arrows being loosed, and the cries of the wounded and dying. I could barely discern the real noise of a man's laboured breath and the tears of someone much younger, and, presently, they came into my view. A middle-aged warrior in diamond armor lay against the side of an untouched stone house, black blood flowing heavily from a wound in his side. It was obviously quite deep, and his skin had a sickly sheen to it. By his side knelt a young girl, not much older than nine. Her face was obscured from my view by her raven black hair as she bowed her head. Then the man seemed to stir, and I could barely make out the words, "Aula, please. Go while you can. I haven't much time left," He rasped.

"No, Father! You can't leave me! Mother left me, Caius left me, don't leave me too! I need you!" the child sobbed, and I saw tears come to the man's eyes.

"Go. There is nothing you can do for me. Take my sword, and remember that I will always be with you, daughter." The man gave Aula a small smile, and began to relax and close his eyes.

"Father! PLEASE!" Aula cried, but her father was gone. She mourned there for a long time, but I could sense something within her change and she stood, taking the sword from the fallen warrior as he had asked, and glared defiantly in my direction. Under her breath, I could hear her mutter, "I will avenge all of them. The boy will regret ever having come here. I will kill him with my own hands, and would rather die than forgive him, no matter what he may do.

[The scene shifted, and some sort of transition happens in a burst of light. I'm terrible with transitions, so here ya go.]

I was in a beautiful sort of paradise; really, it was something one could not describe. It had to be the Aether, as it looked like some sort of heaven to me. I was on one of the floating islands, and, when I looked over the edge, I couldn't even see the ground. _I suppose that's natural here,_ I thought to myself.

"You're somewhat right about that. _You_ shouldn't be able to see the ground." 

I turned around in shock to face… "Notch?" I asked, looking at the god with confusion. "Uh… hello…" I stutter, shocked and not expecting anything like this to ever happen to me.

"Lucia, I would love to have the time to exchange greetings and whatnot, but I must warn you of the dark times to come," the deity replied, and I felt fear begin to creep into my senses.

"Er… exactly what kind of dark times?" I said dumbly.

"If you do not act, your world will be destroyed, and everyone will be killed. There will be death to every User in Minecraftia, and many other unspeakable horrors will befall your land. I have brought you here to ask you to aid me in making sure it never happens."

Ay, there's the rub. I'm going to need to do something. And I'll be expected to do it right. I can only hope I'm up to the challenge.

"How? And by Users, do you mean me and Glitch?"

I regretted mentioning the kid the moment I said his name, as Notch's face darkened considerably at the mention. "He is no user. He is a monster, a cold-blooded killer who must've come from the End itself. If you will take a god's advice, kill him the first chance you get. If you knew what-"

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a darkness slammed into me before I heard a word more, and I felt as if my very life force was being sapped. Barely conscious, I heard, "Nice try, but you won't be getting in my way." Then an excruciating pain filled me; I screamed and-

88888

I bolted upright in my bed, panting and covered in sweat. The sun was just beginning to rise, and my heart was beating fast and my mind was racing with the strange visions I had just seen.

Nothing made any sense.

But I knew one thing.

I had been given a duty. Something greater than I could currently comprehend. I, a simple user, now supposedly held the weight of my world on my shoulders.

But first…

I went downstairs quickly with a grim look on my face. I turned away from the ladder to face Glitch, who was currently eating a piece of cake and looking out one of the windows. He noticed me and asked, mouth full of food, "'Morning. Want some?" He held out another piece.

My expression didn't change. I walked over to him and said in a quiet but serious voice, "Glitch? I need answers."

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**That's it for now folks. See ya next chapter!**

**Myriad, out.**


	5. Eyes and Enchantments

**Hola, guys! Myriad here with a brand new chapter! Sorry it took forever and some, but I had a bazillion tests before my break, so... :/ I hope to publish one or two chapters tonight, thought, considering the SYOC it may very well just be one. Ah well, I hope it's enough for now, as I tried to make this chappie as long as I could. :)**

**Thanks again to Stevie2662, Me Says So, MyCookiesAreEpic, and The Inner Titan for reviewing! You guys are the best! :D**  
**I thought that, for once, I should probably go ahead and address a few cool things I read in reviews since I have some time on my hands. I appreciate all the kind words you all have said about my story, and wanted to go ahead and tell Me Says So she's beginning to uncover my plot... you're so close! But this fanfic is probably going a different direction than you'd think. ;) **

**Oh, and as for Aula, we'll run into her at one point or another... won't say when yet, 'cause that could spoil things. (Also a response to Titan. Y'know, you and Titan have overlapping reviews, in a sense. I guess it's cause you guys like predicting things or something? XD)**

**... So, I think that's it for now... at least, all I can remember. XD Enjoy!**

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Glitch looks at me, slightly amused. "Answers to what?" He asked me placidly, taking a large bite out of his sweet.

"You know full well what I mean. You didn't tell me the truth the first time." I say blatantly.

Glitch looks like he's been slapped, and drops the piece of cake on the floor. "What -"

"A regular person doesn't fall from the sky and insist they have no idea what happened to them, and take it so calmly. They don't know this biome's terrain like the back of their hand just by "instinct".They don't randomly express fear at buildings, albeit it was a fortress. They don't know wolves names, they can't build an amazing house in less than a day, and they certainly can't change a creeper!" I watched his face grow paler, and he looked at me with a strange light in his eyes.  
"Now what are you trying to get at?" Glitch asked me, his voice barely betraying a darker emotion.

"Tell me who you really are, and what the Nether is going on. I must know," I demand, staring him dead in the eye.

He matched my gaze evenly, though I could sense fear radiating from him. Amber eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "My business is my own concern. Since when did you become so nosy?"

"Since last night. A god has, more or less, asked me to strike you down where you stand. Now what could you have possibly done to incur this deity's wrath?"

Now Glitch dropped his calm façade, but something strange came over him as he was about to speak. He shuddered, and a shadow passed over his face. He closed his eyes, and I watched, bewildered, as he opened them. His eyes had turned a sickly, glowing yellow, and held no spark of any kind emotion in them. He closed them yet again, and seemed to be undergoing some sort of internal struggle. It almost looked as if it pained him. "Glitch?" I asked uncertainly, beginning to back away.

The boy let out a long breath and his eyes snapped open, this time their regular color. "I truly cannot explain."

"What's stopping you?" I huffed, not taking no for an answer.

"I would be dead before I opened my mouth. As I said before-"

"Why? Who would kill you? Who-"

"You don't want to know. Besides, I cannot tell-" He protested, but I cut him off.

"Really, Glitch, what-"

I stopped speaking as I saw his eyes change to yellow yet again, the pupils becoming even more slitted, like a snake's. Looking at me with sheer indifference, he said commandingly, "Stop asking of these things, and leave, if you value your life."

I leapt back, hurt and stunned. He had lied to me, and admitted it, but refused to tell me the truth. And now he was practically telling me to get lost. "I might just do that..." I muttered under my breath. Yet, something about that voice didn't sound like him, and those eyes were seriously creeping me out...

I was seriously considering getting out my bow when Glitch seemed to get in control of himself, and looked horribly ashamed of his outburst. "Nether, I'm sorry. Lucia, I didn't mean-"

"Don't bother. I'm going to punch some- get wood from trees." I interrupted him, stalking past angrily.

"Lucia, you don't understand-" he tried to stop me, but I walked coldly past him, Terra and Caelum trotting haughtily

"What's to understand? You've made it quite clear that you're not going to tell me anything." I slammed the door behind me.  
I didn't chance to see him lookout a window after her, or hear him mutter sadly, "Believe me, User. You won't want to get caught up in this."

888888888

I did what I said I was going to do, originally. Thirty trees felt my wrath as I broke random wood blocks from the foliage around me. _Why won't he tell me anything_? I asked myself as I stood there, panting**. **_Nothing makes sense! Ever since this guy ended up in my life, all I've had is trouble. I just don't get it. What did I do to end up in this mess?_

_Well, you wanted an adventure. Now you have one. _Another voice says in my head, somewhat smug-sounding.

_THIS is an adventure? I imagined mob-slaying and adventuring, and good, loyal friends! Not this!_

_Who knows where this may lead? There's always more to an adventure than there seems at first, right? _The other voice reasoned.

_Well... I don't know. Where do I even_ _start?_I thought hopelessly, sitting on a tree stump.

Then it came to me. _That book... the one I picked up a few days ago. It was from that village, the same one I dreamt about. Is it on me?_

I searched through my inventory frantically, my fingers brushing over several other items before coming to rest on the cool leather binding. I let out a small sigh of relief; maybe this book will have answers. I pull it out and take a closer look at the volume, taking in every detail. It is thick and the pages are somewhat worn looking, and the leather cover is actually a dark blue, a color I'd rarely seen on any book. In gold lettering, it had something written on the front, but it was so worn and marred by the fire that I couldn't actually make out any words. There was a barely discernable purplish glow around the book, and at once I knew it was enchanted. This book really must be important, or at least written by someone important.

I flipped it open to the first page. Luckily, it wasn't too badly burned, and I could easily make out the good penmanship of the person who wrote this. I began to read, and the passage on the first page was:

_To whom it may concern: Kindly put away my journal and stop reading. I admire the fact you found this book, and that you actually managed to get a hold of it, but still, your efforts are in vain. If you turn to the next page, this book will explode. I am not joking. You have been warned._

_-T. Attela_

I stared at this lovely little message for a while, somewhat at a loss of what to do. The book was enchanted... Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna dare risk it. There was only one place to go for information now.

"The fortress," I said aloud. Glitch had been afraid of the place. It was time to find out why.

* * *

**Okay, that was actually very, very short and I apologise. I had a bunch going on at home, and I really wanted to leave off on that note. However, I guess that'll mean that I need to modify my OC forms. Oh, and I have a few new info bits:**

**1) Characters can have crushes on Lucia and Glitch, and they MIGHT even get paired up with them at one point. **

**2) I'm not currently accepting any characters who live alone. Only those inside the obsidian fortress.**

**3) I'm going to be a bit particular about which characters I do and don't include, esp. if the spelling and/or grammar in the sign up is horrible, but, if yours isn't chosen, it's most likely going to be from a character overload, if anything. XD**

**4) For the Job section, I have two slots open for guards, one for historian, one for second in command (May have a relationship with Aula-spoiler there.), and three for warriors. Oh, and one for a regular citizen. They may not all be major characters, but ALL of them will get a mention. Oh, and guards and warriors have a uniform, so if you send in one of them you can just put, "The uniform" for clothing.**

**New Form:**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Age: (11-31)**

**Personality:**

**Appearance:**

**Clothing:**

**Any special traits/characteristics?:**

**Weapons:**

**Likes: **

**Dislikes:**

**Fears:**

**Skills:**

**Job:**

**Other:**

**...Yeah. That's the final form. Can't wait to hear from you all and receive your forms!**

**Myriad, out.**


	6. No Longer Alone

**Ermahgerd! Has it really been two weeks since I updated? Sorry about the über long wait, guys! My folks wouldn't let me on the computer that much for a bit because they thought I spent too much time writing. That actually might have been a legit reason... XD**

**Oh, and maths. I've got a teacher who doesn't seem to understand that 50 Algebra I problems are 30 too many to complete in a night, and that I and my classmates have been getting very little sleep due to being overworked. I got my first B, ever, in Science this year, all because I didn't have enough time to study for it and my maths, and my other 6 subjects. Not to mention-**

**Sorry, I'll cut this little rant short before I fill up the whole chapter with it.**

**Anyhoo, I wanted to thank MyCookiesAreEpic and Treestar14 for their OC's, they're great! :D Anka's making an appearance here, and Anguis Sequi will be making an appearance rather soon. I may have to change a few things (like what his name used to be, if that's all right.) but other than that, it's given me an interesting idea... Heheheh... [insert evil plotting look here]**

**Also, a shout-out to Kyanite Archer. I really appreciate your review and the lovely compliments you gave me, and I thank you very much for your suggestion to do more showing and less telling. I hope I did a better job in this chapter. This is actually my first time writing in first person, (and not getting stumped and going back to 3rd,) so I'm trying my best to figure out how to cut out most of the unnecessary thoughts. :) Also looking forward to getting your OC!**

**...Aaaand a quick note to InfinityGuardien/Me Says So: Yaaaaay! You got an account! :D I'll go check out your story soon, and I'm so glad you love my story!**

**To all my dear reviewers, favouriters, and followers: I wanted to let you guys know that your support is keeping this fanfic going. Thank you all. :)**

**Okay, enough of my ramblings. Without further ado, here's Chapter 6: No Longer Alone.**

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I had made up my mind earlier to go back to the obsidian fortress. I had been unwillingly thrown into an adventure, and was going to rise to meet the challenge. I would become a hero, or at least do my job in the course of history.

There was just one problem with that.

I was totally lost.

The trees had grown denser and closer together, and there was an abundance of mushrooms scattered about. I could barely make out the sky, and, I don't know if I was imagining this, but I kept on hearing footsteps other than my own. I never saw what caused them, though.

Shivering slightly after one of these occurences, I looked around for anything half-familiar, wishing I hadn't gone off so quickly. There was nothing. "Well... I guess we're lost..." I said unhappily, looking at my two wolves with sadness written on my face.

They looked back at me with annoyingly happy, wolfish grins. I rolled my eyes and thought for a moment about whether to press on or not. I won't gain anything by staying here... but if I do go on, I'll have less time to build a shelter if I don't reach the fortress...

I thought about this for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of each action. Finally, I decided.

"Come on, boys! We're gonna go find that fortress." I tell my wolves, and they bark in excitement as if they can understand me.

We set off as the sun began it's slow, late afternoon descent, the shadows around me beginning to lengthen, including my own. Hopefully I'd reach some shelter before nightfall.

Turns out, that was one of the stupidest decisions I'd ever made in my life.  
88888  
"Well, that went horribly," I muttered to myself as dusk begins to take over the area. I had gotten myself even more hopelessly lost now than ever before, and I began to get the notion I'd never find my way home. There were no comforting lights or figures in sight, and I was pretty sure I'd just seen a creeper wandering around in the area near me. There was definitely not enough time to build a shelter, and I knew I was now at the mercy of the forest. But I wasn't going down without a fight. I had several arrows in my inventory and a relatively new bow, so I was sure I could take several mobs down with me.

A moan comes from nearby, and barely a second passed after the moan before my arrow buried itself in the vile creature's chest. It falls back with a thud and dissolves, but my relief is short-lived. A spider had managed to sneak up on me, and I turned around right as it jumped at me. Acting quickly, I shot it full of arrows and it too turns to dust, leaving the usual drops behind. However, I could care less about the drops right now.

I find I am practically surrounded by creepers, skeletons, zombies, and spiders, not to mention some square creature I'd never seen before. For everyone I take down, two seem to take its place. There must be a spawner around here, or several. This is impossible! I thought as I shot a creeper, it's warning hiss dying in its throat. I felt a tinge of sadness as it dissolved, for it reminded me somewhat of Conflagitus. I wondered what that creeper was up to now that I'd disappeared.

That was a fatal mistake. I was sent flying as another creeper blew itself up, and slammed into a tree, hard. I swear I heard something crack as my side smashed into the wood, but that wasn't the end of it. My head hit the ground forcibly and I cried out, and my vision swam in and out of focus as I groaned in pain. I saw several mobs coming for me, and doubtless would finish me off. I was in no condition to fight. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the pain.

My eyes snapped open again at the sound of barking. Caelum and Terra were fighting off the mobs, ripping them to shreds and tearing down monster after monster. Their eyes glowed red, and I was quite glad I wasn't a mob at that moment. And I thought that all they did was derp off all the time...

Wonderful guardians that they were, I knew they couldn't hold the mobs off forever. Already I could see signs of them tiring, and I was struggling to stay conscious. I felt my eyes start to close...

They shot open yet again as I saw... something slam into a spider and set it on fire. Fire? No mob can do that... my sluggish mind tried to figure out what was going on. Several more mobs caught on fire. What was causing this? Had Glitch found me? As the mobs began to back away, the fire still striking them down, I felt more confused than I had initially at the multitude of mobs that had come out to attack me. I watched in amazement as they finally retreated as a whole, and returned to the places from whence they had come. I was dumbstruck.

I don't know how much time had passed from then, but when I came back to my senses, I found myself struggling to keep myself awake. Pain coursed from my arm down my spine, and I didn't think I could stay conscious much longer. I also couldn't reach my inventory. I was pretty sure I was screwed.

I heard a distant barking as my eyes began to close, and thought it might be one of my wolves. But both were sitting next to where I lay, and neither appeared to be barking. Odd.

The barking grew closer, and another noise followed it. I finally could make it out, and I heard a feminine voice shouting, "Gallus? Where are you, boy?"

A tamed wolf burst out of the undergrowth nearby me and my two companions, and wagged its tail, looking at my wolves and barking at them in a friendly manner. Both dogs got up and looked at the strange wolf, cocking their heads curiously.

Not far behind the animal came a young woman. She had her mouth open, about to scold her pet, when her eyes traveled from it, to my wolves, to me. She started as she spotted me, saying in a low voice, "What on Minecraftia happened to you?"

"Monster attack. Really… strange one… too…" I managed to choke out. I could barely make out her features, but I could tell this User had quite curly blonde hair and was taller than I was. I also was able to make out a wickedly-sharp looking golden sword that hung by her side, and couldn't help but admire it. Made me feel even worse about all my cobble equipment.

"Really? I usually never get attacked around here… Did you go messing with a spawner?" She asks, a slight look of disapproval on her face.

"Why would I do that?" I asked, incredulous, "I just got really lost around here, and then - Wham. Surrounded."

"Then Herobrine must really have something against you. Anyways, you look like a creeper ran over you and exploded. Do you need any help?"

"Actually- yes. Do you have any food?" I asked, my voice getting progressively quieter.

"Yeah, here," She handed me a porkchop, and I wolfed it down quickly. I sighed with relief as my wounds disappeared, and stood up slowly.

"So... Could I also get directions from you, maybe?" I inquired, trying not to sound as desperate as I was.

"Well, depends on where you want to go." The young woman said unhelpfully.

"Uh... Well, ever been to a biome with a huge obsidian citadel?" I asked simply.

A flare of suspicion came into the woman's eyes, "And why would you go seeking that place? Are you from Paluster Forestam?" Her hand went to her golden sword, and Gallus, who had formerly been socializing with my two dogs, now turned towards me, giving me a threatening glare.

"What? Where is that? I've never heard of the place!" I protested, scrambling back, hoping she wouldn't attack me.

"You claim never to have heard of Paluster Forestam, yet you look like one of their race. Yet you also seem not to have heard of Obsidia. Who are you, stranger?" She asked suspiciously, yet she seemed oddly intrigued.

"I am Lucia, and I hadn't any idea that any other Users were out here. Well, not until recently."

"Ah." The woman sheathed her sword, saying, "Lucia does not sound like a name of their kind. Forgive me for my wariness, for the Paluster Forestam are uncouth folk. They would wish nothing more than to finish us off."

Us? I thought to myself, but said nothing.

"Why do you seek Obsidia, Lucia?" The woman asked, her expression carefully guarded.

"I seek answers. I have a feeling I'll find them there. But enough about me. I don't know who you are, so would you kindly inform me?" It felt odd, talking in such a formal way. Hopefully the other Users didn't always speak so properly.

The woman straightened herself proudly, and as if she were reciting, she said, "I am Anka of Obsidia, High messenger of the Order of Stone. At least, I was." She looked down at her feet unhappily.

"Was? What happened?"

"I cannot say for sure. But they had no use for me after one night, the night the country towns of Laetium and Parvum burned down in a night. Iulius, the Chief Guard of the Order of Stone refused to tell me why, and refused to let me go past the ruined gates. He just told me that I was no longer needed to act as messenger between places. Then the walls were built around our empire, or, rather, the remains of it. Also, rumors circulated around the place that a boy had attacked the place; a boy with yellow eyes. And you go to seek answers, you say? There is a man there, Crassus, who may be able to help you; that is, if the old man's still alive. He is possibly the best historian and enchanter Obsidia's had, possibly even better than Lucullus himself!"

I stood there, barely absorbing all the information. Yellow eyes.  
Yellow eyes.  
Glitch?  
Glitch tried to burn down an empire?

Anka looks at me with concern, taking my stunned look for a look of tiredness, and says, "It is late. I will take you to Obsidia tomorrow, but for now, my house is open for you to spend the night. I do not live far from here."

"Th-thank you," I manage to say, still numb. How could Glitch kill other Users? Was that rumor even true? And what the Nether actually happened to Obsidia?

I follow Anka wordlessly back to her house, Gallus, Caelum, and Terra playing with each other and barking happily along the way. How I wished I wasn't so confused. Even though I'd found out about a whole new world out there, full of new people, new places, and new adventures, I felt more alone than ever.  
8888888

Herobrine stared blankly at his furious brother, obviously confused. "She's just another User! Just why can't my mobs attack her, and what was wrong with me messing with her a bit? Any Minecraftian worth their coal knows not to be out at night, so I had every reason to let them go after her. Her reaction was quite amusing as well."

"What you don't you understand, brother? You nearly killed her, and what good would that do any of us? As you know, we may only work through Users to protect the world we made together, and she will be crucial to preserving this place. And you found the child's pain amusing? Your idea of amusing has always been sick and twisted but this... " Notch trailed off, glaring accusingly at his brother.

Shifting uncomfortably, Herobrine decided to change the subject before Notch would lecture him further. "This matter having been resolved," he glared back at Notch, as if daring him to interrupt, "Have you found the cause of the destruction of most of Obsidia?"

Notch knew the question was coming, and grit his teeth."No, not yet. I am still searching." He lied smoothly, though it pained him to do so.

"I am growing restless, brother. The mobs are as well. We long to know who this wretch, this ruiner of our lands is, and we wish to tear them from limb to limb." Herobrine said vehemently, his cold white eyes glowing as he said this. Then he paused, as if listening to something. After a few moments, he let out a growl of frustration, and announced, "The Ghasts accidentally set fire to my stronghold again. I must leave now." Herobrine turned away from his older brother and dissolved into nothingness , leaving a cold chill in the air as he left.

Notch sighed and dropped down into a chair, putting his head in his hands. He hated having to lie to his brother about anything, but what could he do? He was trying to protect him from the truth. The exhausted, conscience-stricken god muttered into his hands,"It's for his own good; At least, I believe so. What would hurt him more than learning his son has destroyed half the world?"

* * *

**DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, DID YA? Oh, what a plot twist! And I'd say that this is the absolute longest chapter I've ever written. [insert fanfare, confetti, and wild party here!]**

**...Aaaand back on topic. SYOC is still OPEN. Check out chapters 3 and 5 for all the guidelines, and *just 5* for the sign-ups. I will wait *one week from today* for all characters to be submitted, and then will add in my own in spots not taken.**

**I must leave you now to ponder what on earth will happen next. Hehehe...**

**Myriad, out.**

**{Another quick thing: Sorry if the quality of my writing and formatting gets a bit worse towards the end of this chapter, I'm getting a bad sinus headache and don't really have the energy to revise. I wanted to give you guys this chapter quickly, as I've kept you waiting for two weeks. Now I'm going to head to bed, so see you all next chapter!}**


	7. ANNOUNCEMENTS (NOT part of the story)

**For those of you who thought this was another chapter, I'm sorry; it isn't. However, I do have some very important things to say here, and that I really need your help, my dear readers and reviewers!**

**Okay, so, first off. Derpy cows as the cover of Glitched does not give my story a very serious look. And my story is quite serious. I'd make a cover for it myself, but there's also a problem with that: My drawing skills are rubbish, no matter how hard I try. I have an outline of what I'd like my cover to have on it, and I have a rough sketch (Note the word "rough"), but I can't get the thing to actually look... well, right. Or very professional, for that matter. So, if one of you reading this might be interested in helping me out, or know someone who would be willing (Or is just a brilliant artist XD) , please PM me! I would be forever indebted to you!**

**The second thing. I am in the process of trying to figure out whether I should make this the Glitched Series, or make this storyline all one novel. I just... I'm not really sure whether to attempt a series (Most likely a trilogy) or not, because I don't know what you guys would rather me do. In a trilogy, the books would be probably 20 or so chapters long, and if I kept it as one book, it'd be about 60 chapters. (I think that'd be daunting, though, considering how much I usually write every chapter.) If you would, please let me know what I should do in a review or PM!**

**On a far less urgent note, I plan to post the next chapter this Tuesday or Wednesday (Depending when my History test is. XP). I really, really can't wait to see how you guys react to my numerous plot twists! I have so much in store... [Insert plotting grin here] And I will most likely have another SYOC. Speaking of which, my first SYOC was horribly disorganized, and it was really my fault for the confusion, which I apologise for. The next SYOC will probably happen when... No, not saying any more. Bad Myriad! XD**

**Well, I should probably get back to writing, especially considering that I'll be starting a second, separate Minecraft fanfiction somewhat soon... So see ya later, friends!  
-Myriad.**

**{Note: This may be deleted when my story is finished... As to make the story continue to "flow" smoothly.}**


	8. Welcome To Obsidia

**Ughhhhh! I'm so sorry for the really long wait. I blame it all on a computer crash, Tobuscus, and Geometry homework. Not in any particular order, of course. XD**

**First off, happy Easter to all of you! Hope it's been a wonderful day.**

**As you all probably noticed, I got a really BRILLIANT cover from MyCookiesAreEpic, and this is a little shout out to her and her amazingness! :D I love the cover so much! **

**...And as you all probably know, Part 1 of my SYOC is officially over. The next chapter will include/introduce many of the OCs, but I might have to split the next chapter into two or three, as it will hold a lot of the plot of this fanfiction. Also, I've found great purposes for most of the OCs, so I hope you all like what I did with them! :)**

**Hmm... Anything else I need to mention - wait, yes. I have an ongoing poll on my profile, asking which character(s) in my fanfiction are your favorites so far, and I'd really appreciate it if you guys would go check it out! Some have already voted, and I thank you for doing so!**

**I'm going to keep this short, so you all don't have to listen to all my mindless rambling and can read what I promised to give you all at least a week ago. (Note to self: Stop making deadlines for myself. I never actually finish by them. XD)**

* * *

All was dark. 

I couldn't see anything, hear anything, feel anything. 

All of the sudden, a harsh burst of strange dark light envelops my vision, and I gaze upon a strange land, filled with unnatural looking white ground and a dark, dark sky. There was no moon, and even the stars seemed suppressed. I was gliding over the sands, looking around at the desolate lands around me. I saw strange, tall creatures walking around with long limbs and strange glowing eyes, and tall, dark pillars and structures passed me as I flew over the landscape. Some had strange, floating crystals over them. But that wasn't the oddest thing. I found myself staring into the slitted, purple eyes of a black dragon. Surprisingly, the creature ignores me, heading towards one of the pillars with a crystal on it. I now see it had been horribly wounded by an arrow, blackish-purple blood bubbling out from a wound in its side. Somehow, well… honestly, it was indescribable. The dragon flew up to the crystal, and its wound suddenly healed up. That alone stunned me, but I also began to wonder about where the arrow had come from. Were there skeletons down there?

Then I noticed him. He was tall and proud-looking, with defined, somewhat haggard features and wild, unkempt hair. He had a determined look on his face, the intensity of which could only belong to a hero. Intelligent hazel eyes scoured the horizon, trying to distinguish the dark dragon against the pitch black sky. Only by the way it blotted out the stars told him where it was, and he lifted his bow to shoot it once again…

All of the sudden, he fell to his knees , clutching his head as if in immense pain. His bow clattered on the stone beside him as he let out a cry almost as if he were about to die, when a harsh, twisted voice came from nowhere in particular, saying, "Brave. Very brave. You will make a fun plaything… I wonder how long you'll last, little hero." The adventurer collapsed after hearing this with a low groan, and, just as suddenly as the voice spoke to him, it spoke to me. "Do not interfere in my business, or you will end up like him and the others. This is your first warning."

A searing pain swept through my nerves as the vision tore itself away from me, and my eyes snapped open. That's when I realized I was not in my house. _What happened… _It all came back in an instant. _Cake. Glitch. Yellow eyes. Mob attack. Anka. Obsidia. _

I let out a small groan, stretching cautiously and slowly rising from the bed I was on. I figured I was in Anka's guestroom. My gaze traveled around the room, taking in my surroundings. I was in a cozy, wood paneled room, a torch on a small table beside me. There was a bookcase opposite the twin-sized bed , with a painting hung directly over it. The painting seemed to be of Anka and some other User, smiling. They both seemed to be teenagers in this picture. I walked over towards it, curious.

The other user was very bronzed and muscular, with kind, warm brown eyes and dark hair, and he seemed to be looking at her fondly. I now got a better look at my rescuer as well. She had beautiful blond, curly hair, and sparkling green eyes full of happiness and innocence. However,  
the most startling thing I noticed was a large birthmark that covered most of her face, though it was not very dark. How had I not noticed that before?

On the frame of the painting, there was a message engraved on an iron plaque: I will never forget this day. -Q. Valerius

I smiled to myself after reading this, and then checked out the bookcase. There wasn't really anything that interesting on it; there were books like "25 Ways to Kill a Cow Painlessly" and "Herobrine: Myth or Reality?", stuff that wasn't very helpful to me now. Then one somewhat thin volume caught my eye. The cover was a simply brown leather, and the title was merely an impression in the soft material. The cover read: "The Official Messenger's Guide to Minecraftia: Everything You Need To Know About the Overworld In 100 Pages by S. Coruncanius". Intrigued, I picked the book up and thumbed through it. It looked pretty helpful, so I decided that I might as well ask Anka if I could borrow it for awhile.

Just then I heard a knock on the door to the room, and Anka walked in, an unreadable expression on her face. "We'd best be going," Anka's eyes flickered from me to the picture as she spoke, and I was that longing I saw in her eyes?

She tossed me a loaf of bread, and I almost dropped it as she said, "We will eat on the road. Obsidia will be within our sights soon."

I nodded, and was about to ask about the book when she turned and left the room. I followed, stashing the book in my inventory. I could always ask her about it later, couldn't I?

88888888888

The sun barely peaked out from behind the clouds as Anka and I traversed the cold, hard ground, our wolves trotting faithfully by our sides. "Are we getting any closer?" I asked tiredly. I felt as if we'd been going in circles, and was eager to actually reach the citadel. My leather boots felt like lead as I moved, and my calves were beginning to ache from the weight, not to mention the fact that my bow and quiver full of arrows were getting rather heavy as well.

"We will reach Obsidia soon. Patience, Lucia, is a great virtue," Anka said somewhat absently, scanning the hills ahead of us with a seasoned eye. "We are not far at all, actually. We will be inside the Tundra Biome once we get over this hill."

Hearing this brought my spirits up considerably, and I found myself sprinting up the side of the hill, both of my wolves following and barking like crazy. I reached the crest of the grassy knoll and looked out, barely spotting the tall, dark structure on the horizon. The snow around us was almost blinding in the sun, and I held my hand over my eyes as I stared intently at the fortress, trying to discern any activity within it from my position.

Turning to see where Anka had gone, I realized she had actually gone ahead of me, and I scrambled to catch up. Now that we were so close to the place, Anka started to seem somewhat excited herself. I wasn't sure why, but I figured she might be eager to revisit her old home.

We reached the ruined cities within a few minutes, and Anka seemed to slow, looking around her with pain in her eyes. I could only wonder what this place had been like before, well, whatever happened to it... happened. "D'ya think they'll ever try and repair this place?" I asked Anka with a hint of hope in my voice. I barely perceived a shake of her head as she said, "It's about as likely to happen as it is that Aula will leave the fortress' walls."

_Aula...? Like the child from my dream?_ I wondered to myself as we approached what looked to be two giant watchtowers made of the same material as the walls of the citadel. I expected that we'd walk right past them, as they looked unoccupied, but I was wrong yet again.

"Halt! State your name and what business you have here in Obsidia, strangers!" A loud, commanding voice sounded from one of the watchtowers.

Anka's eyes widened in shock, and, sounding almost unbelieving, she called, "Valerius? Is... Is that you?"

At once a man was visible from one of the ramparts on the tower, a strange looking battle axe in his hands. He practically dropped it when his gaze fell on Anka. "Anka! It really is you!" He shouted down to her, clearly overjoyed to see her again. Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared from view, and then came out of the tower at ground level, walking quickly towards us. Anka ran to meet him, and the two embraced, as two friends would after not seeing each other for ages.

I now was close enough to the guard to see that he looked almost exactly like he had in the painting of himself and Anka, save he now looked considerably stronger and more experienced.

Valerius disengaged himself from the hug with a look of slight confusion and concern on his face, "Where have you been all this time? I was beginning to think you had died!"

"I was sent away. I didn't really think to come back, as I'd been told I was no longer needed here by a friend of yours," Anka's voice had a tinge of bitterness to it.

Valerius, however, ignored her sharp comment, and replied, "I am just glad you are all right. I didn't know if you had survived the attack."

I cleared my throat somewhat loudly, interrupting the touching scene. It was great and all that they were back together, but it was probably not wise to be standing around outside the walls of the city chatting idly, and it certainly wasn't productive.

"Oh, this is Lucia," Anka said quickly, gesturing at me and continuing on, "She came here to find out why half of Obsidia was destroyed. She doesn't seem to be from here or from Paluster Forestam, so I figure her parents must've seceded or something."

I was about to mention that I'd never even met my parents when Valerius said, "Give me just a moment, and I'll open the gates for you." He disappeared back up the watch tower, and I heard him pull a lever once he was at the top. A section of the supposedly seamless walls of the citadel pushed outwardly and then began to open slowly, and I dashed towards the opening, eager to see whatever lay inside.

My jaw dropped open.

"Welcome to Obsidia, Lucia," Anka said, smiling.

* * *

**Another quick A/N: TheInnerTitan owns Valerius. MyCookiesAreEpic owns Anka. Jus' thought I'd say. :)**

** Also, the last part of this chapter was rushed (Again. I know, I'm horrible. :/) as I have a lot of homework still to finish. I'll probably be up all night, but - (No. Bad Myriad. Stop griping about homework in your A/Ns.)  
See you next chapter, guys!**


	9. Confusion and Changes

**My goodness! I haven't updated since Easter! Gosh, I'm really, really sorry about the wait, guys, a lot's been going on in my life right now and I had to put Ch. 8 of Glitched on hold for a bit to try and deal with all the stuff life threw at me. So... yeah. But Ch. 8's out now; better late than never!**

**All right, I spent forever writing this up, and I hope I did Obsidia justice. Also, I'm editing this with another splitting headache. (Thanks, Episotic Vertigo! *Clear sarcasm*) So it's not gonna be perfect. But I really, really tried.**

**Oh, and just to try and give you an idea of how many more chapters are coming soon, I'd say you might get 1 or 2 in May because that's when I have finals in school... and when I move. (Yeah. I'm moving... -_- Again.) But hopefully June will see the end of Part 1 of the Glitched Trilogy! **

**Keeping my A/N somewhat short, for once. On to the chapter! (PS. I hate the name I came up for to describe this chapter. Could anyone recommend a better one, please? XD)**

* * *

I could not believe my eyes. I'd imagined Obsidia looking several different ways on the trek here, but nothing like this. I looked to Anka, whose expression went from smug to bewildered, to just plain shocked. "What in the name of all things diamond happened here?" She cried, looking out over the unfamiliar city with fury in her eyes. Clearly it hadn't looked the way it looked now when she'd last been there.

Inside the wall there were row after row of rectangular obsidian barracks, with no windows and torches placed on the outside very uniformly. These structures went on as far as I could see. A few soldiers were milling about the barracks, with both men and women in uniform. Most of them had wicked looking iron swords in their possession, and they didn't seem to be interacting with each other much. Perhaps the strangest thing was their Stoic expressions, eyes straight ahead and walking with a measured, professional step. They looked like a people who had suffered many hardships and were more than prepared for war. My eyes traveled from that to a large training field enclosed by a large wall, and several troops were out participating in some sort of drill. As I watched them get into formation, I noticed that the "walls" were in fact spawners, and, as I continued to watch, several creepers sprang from them. A man barked an order, and, well... I'd prefer not to think of the details. I'd never had a soft spot for mobs, but this seemed extreme. Then another wave of creepers sprang from the wall, and again the men dispatched them. I watched in horror yet in fascination as this repeated until something even more strange caught my eye.  
It was a grand tower made of obsidian, hundreds of blocks high; it was so tall it rose above the clouds, and I could barely discern a pulsing light at the very top.  
As spectacular as the place was, everything felt wrong. Like it shouldn't be this way.

"...made many changes when she came to power. Many of which the people disagreed with, but what could we do? The imperator's word is law." I tuned in as Valerius' weary voice cut through my thoughts, answering Anka's question.

"Aula? It doesn't seem like her." Anka frowned in response.

"She…is not like she was. Something ... changed in her after The Great Destruction."

_The Great Destruction?_ I asked myself as I continued to listen to the others.

"It would seem so. War is not one of our people's traits." Anka's brow furrowed slightly as she spoke.

Valerius let out a humorless laugh, "It will be, once Aula's finished training them."

"Tell me, will we still be able to find Crassus here? Or was he killed in The Great Destruction ?"

"The old fellow's still here. How he managed it, I don't know. Aula drove all the other historians out, calling them useless, and saying that they were preserving a useless thing. She drove many of our best artists out as well. Many went to seek refuge elsewhere."

"And, let me guess. She also tore down the Artist's District and the Old Quarter." Anka looked like she'd swallowed an uncooked fish by this point in the conversation.

I couldn't blame her.

"The only thing she _didn't_ 'improve' was the Old Quarter. The people would've rebelled if she had. Our few remaining artists and now our only historian reside there, hoping she won't change her mind." Valerius sighed and shook his head, "Old Quintus would be rolling over in his grave if he was able to see what his daughter's been doing to his beloved city."

The more I heard about this Aula person, the less and less I liked her. She also seemed like the sort that would have me executed the moment she saw me as a spy or something, seeing as to how she was running the place. Now feeling somewhat nervous, I asked in a small voice, "Will I be safe here?"

"As long as you stick with both of us, you will be," Valerius said reassuringly, adding, "Almost no one questions the actions of a Tower Guard, or their guests." Then the Tower Guard gestured to the open 'gates', saying, "Well, shall we?"

Both Anka and I nodded wordlessly, stepping in with a sense of foreboding.

888888

We walked for several minutes in silence, both Anka and me taking in the "new" Obsidia. Our small company passed by a few troops standing around outside a barrack, and they saluted Valerius smartly, who nodded to them in return. It was then I noticed small scythes stitched into their uniform on the right arm of the garment, varying in color. I then looked to the arm of Valerius' attire, and also spotted the scythe emblem. His was stitched in a silvery sort of color, and somewhat bigger than the others.

Without even turning around, Valerius muttered, "The scythes indicate our rank by size and color. I'm relatively high-ranked. I belong to the Iron Order of the Scythe, the highest military order here. From there it goes to stone, and then wood, the new recruits. You get drafted at about the age of fourteen."

"Fourteen?" I exclaimed, a bit more loudly than I'd expected to. I got a nod in response.

Now I was really starting to wonder if I made the right choice by coming here. I might've been safer with Glitch, and that was saying something.

We turned right on another cobble-lined street, and almost ran straight into a boy wearing a blue creeper hoodie and faded, torn jeans. He jerked back slightly, and then his unusual bluish-red eyes narrowed at us as he muttered, "Watch where you're going, you noobs."

Both Anka and Valerius stiffened, and Anka barely managed to keep Valerius from "putting the kid in his place." I looked at them, confused, but held my tongue until the boy had passed. After Valerius had calmed down, I asked, "Who was that?"

"We only know him as Rom. Nothing is known about where he came from, or when he'll leave Obsidia. He said he felt a 'connection' to the city, and that was why he came here. And he's been nothing but a thorn in our side." Valerius said derisively.

From the way he said it, I figured he'd had many other unpleasant encounters with this mysterious figure.

"We're almost there. Look, there is the one part of Historic Obsidia still standing." Valerius pointed down the avenue, and I saw buildings even more stunning than I'd ever dreamed of seeing. There was a building made entirely of glass, with many strange glowing golden blocks within it. Another building was made of brick, several stories high and made in a federal, impressive style. The rooftop was made of a beautiful white stone I'd never seen before, and there was a large sign on it that read: The Historian's Guild of Obsidia: Time will never destroy our records, for they live on through us.

"That's the place," Valerius remarked as he saw me standing there and gawking at the colossal building. "It's a bit dilapidated in parts, but believe me when I say that it's still going to blow you away."

It was then I noticed a few broken windows and some vines beginning to crawl up the window. "No one's tried to repair it?"

"We aren't given enough free time to do much more than eat and sleep, much less repair an old building that our imperator wishes to tear down. And Crassus is much too old to even attempt to do that stuff."

"Oh." I said awkwardly, and after a moment of silence, I asked, "Before we go in, what exactly is Crassus like?"

Anka winced slightly at my question, and replied, "Well... I... You'll see."

Wow. How reassuring.

I walked up the ancient and worn steps to the doors of the building, and braced myself for whatever was in there.

Again, I was shocked speechless. The floor of the building was made out of etched diamond blocks, glossy and shiny to the point of where one could see their reflection in them. The brick walls of the place were hung with paintings of amazing quality, and there were stories within them that seemed to tell the history of Obsidia themselves. There was a painting depicting a young man laying the foundation of the glass building, and then another of the same man, although older, fighting a huge, spindly creature I identified to be an overgrown spider. _Well, that's unrealistic as it gets_, I thought as I snickered at the clearly exaggerated battle, but a withering glance from Anka silenced me. I then looked up to the vaulted white ceiling, and marveled at a sparkling yellow stone lighting up the walls.

"That's glowstone. It's... rather hard to obtain." Valerius explained.

Then my eyes fell on a marble staircase, going in a spiral up towards another floor. "How many floors does this building have?" I asked in wonder, looking to the other two.

"Ten. Only two or three are used now, though, as Crassus is pretty much the only one here," Valerius paused, then adding, "Let's go up, shall we?"

I nodded wordlessly, heading up the steps. I passed a painting of the huge glass tower on my way up, with a man fighting another man on the top. _What is the significance of that thing?_ I asked myself, staring at it a moment longer before continuing up. When I reached the second floor I looked about myself, and saw row after row of bookshelves before me, the walls paneled with smooth wood and the floor carpeted with dark green wool. I let out a squeal of joy and all but ran to a random bookshelf, scanning the titles in interest. There were very few I /wouldn't/ want to read. Many spoke of heroes of Obsidia, and others of the history of the place. There were many, many different topics, so many I would never be able to list them all. Then, in the center of the room, there was an object I only could have dreamed about seeing. An enchantment table.

By this time, both Anka and Valerius had caught up with me, wearing amused expressions as they watched me run around. For once, I wasn't embarrassed in the least. "May I use this?" I pointed to the enchanting table, a hopeful expression on my face. Finally, I might be able to put infinity on my bow!

"Not unless you can read runes. Our enchanter left with the other Artisans." Valerius said matter-of-factly, falling back into his Tower Guard attitude, "Aula believes that sorcery is not needed to uphold an empire. Be that true or not, our enchanter was offended by her, and was one of the first to leave."

I nodded wordlessly, as there was nothing I could really say safely. "Crassus is down this hallway," Valerius interrupted my less than kind thoughts about the imperator of Obsidia, motioning to a doorway I hadn't seen before. He opened it and Anka and I stepped in, only to hear a faint yelling from the end of the hall. "... Thrice-blasted specter! Give that back, now!" An angry, ancient-sounding voice croaked, and impish laughter sounded from the same place.

"Anguis? He's still here?" Anka asked. Valerius nodded, and Anka let out a sigh, clearly not happy about it.

We crossed the hall quickly and threw open the door to see an old man chasing after... A floating book? Then I noticed the faint outline of a man wearing pale, striped clothes and a faded green scarf. The second thing I noticed was that he was only about one block tall. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the scene, and I could tell my companions were trying very hard not to laugh as well.

At that moment, the ghostly halfling and the old historian looked up at our entrance, stopping in their tracks for just a moment. The old man took advantage of our arrival to get his book back, and the ghost turned to him, stuck his tongue out, and disappeared.

"Crassus? Is now a good time?" Valerius had a small smile on his face as he spoke to the historian, who scowled in response, saying, "What do you want?" Then his eyes fell on me, and he added, "_Another_ wanderer, I suppose."

"Not reall-"

"Pah. It doesn't matter, child. What matters is you came here to get information. What do you wish to learn?" Crassus asked bluntly, not even asking for my name.

"First, I kinda wanted to ask you if you've ever seen this before." Without even thinking, the words left my mouth and I pulled out the enchanted book that I'd found in the razed city, and plunked it down on the table. The eyes of all the other Users in the room widened in disbelief, and, after a moment of heavy silence, Crassus asked, "Where did you find this?"

"In the ruins of one of your cities. I came across it purely by chance."

Again, the historian seemed to care little about my answer, and continued on, saying, "This belonged to the last of the true imperators, Tiberia Atella. She died during the Great Destruction. She was a good person, strong and iron-willed. Yet she had a kind and gentle heart. Although it was her greatest strength, it was also her greatest weakness. She trusted someone who never should have been trusted." Crassus shook his head sadly, a slightly pained expression on his face. Then it became the characteristic scowl again, and he looked at the book, saying, "I suppose you want me to disenchant it so it doesn't 'blow up', eh?"

I nodded, and he let out a small, grim chuckle. "Our enchanter didn't know how to make such powerful, destructive spells. In fact, that aura is just for show. Not that dear Attela would ever know she'd been tricked." He then quieted as he thumbed through the volume, skimming the pages quickly. The book came down on the table with a thud as he said "It's filled with a load of nonsense for the most part. I believe you also wanted to hear what happened to the cities around us? The broken places in which you found this thing?" He gestured at the book.

"Yes... Sir." I added respectfully, and for the first time that day, the man looked satisfied.

"Then sit down, child. It is a somewhat long story, and not a particularly pleasant one to tell."


	10. The Truth - Or Is It?

**Hey guys! Myriad here, updating after quite a long time! Sorry for the incredibly long wait, I swear the next update will not take as long. So... This chapter may be my absolute longest, seeing as a whole lot is goin' down and stuff is getting serious. I would definitely say that this is the "Point of No Return" for my story as well, seeing as I am now halfway through the first part of the Glitched Trilogy. By this, I mean that I will now double my efforts to bring this story to a close, and that I will fight anything that gets in my way of finishing it. And, most importantly, I won't be giving up on this.**

**...So, I haven't mentioned it to some of you all, so I thought I might as well announce publicly that I have an account on deviantART! I have posted a few things for Glitched on there, and be on the lookout for more soon - there might even be a few spoilers. :P**

**Also. I have been reading some random fanfics as of late, many from several different fandoms, and have noticed that some authors have their characters answer questions that the reviewers ask them. I have decided to try that, just for fun. Feel free to ask them anything!**

**Oh, and since I'm nearing the halfway mark, I want to make a shoutout to my amazing friends and reviewers on this site. You guys are the best. :) Your support, suggestions, and observations have both encouraged me and helped me become a better writer, and I greatly appreciate it.**

**Enough of my incessant blabbering. I do hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

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The seasoned historian cleared his throat before beginning, "Well, in order to understand what has happened recently, you must understand more of our history-"

"Crassus. We don't have time for her to learn everything she ought to know. Just answer her immediate question for now." Valerius interrupted quickly, clearly not wanting to stick around for long. "Besides, I have to go back to my post before anyone notices I am not present, though it is probable they have already discovered my absence."

"Well, no one asked you to stay, did they?" Crassus replied irately, giving the guard a dirty look as he hated being interrupted, "Go back to your outpost, boy." Valerius gave both me and Anka a concerned glance before leaving the room, his duty weighing heavily on him.

I then turned back to Crassus, who was pulling an old-looking book from off of a shelf in the back of the room. He brought it back over to his intricately carved pine-wood desk and set it down gingerly, dusting off the cover carefully. Then he looked up from it, saying, "They say seeing is believing. You'll know everything you need to know as of now when you open this book, and in a matter of seconds." I raised an eyebrow at this statement, but he gestured towards the book, annoyed. "It won't bite you. Go on. Take it."

I picked it up, noticing a faint purple aura radiating from it, somewhat like the aura around Atella's book, save a little fainter. It looked ancient, but as if it had been kept by generations as a prized possession; even for its clear age it was in almost pristine condition. Cautiously, I lifted the leather cover upwards so as to read the first page, and the moment my eyes met the words I felt a strange and nauseating sensation as if I had been bitten by a spider. "What-" I managed to splutter as my vision zoomed in on the first page of the volume and then went entirely black.

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My eyes snapped open, everything out of focus as I registered a dull pain in my head and the feeling in my stomach that made me think that I had somehow eaten gravel. As my vision cleared, I stared up into a surprisingly cloudless, almost cyan-looking sky, impossibly blue. Picking myself up with a small groan, I looked around, trying to get my bearings. I was on a small atoll seemingly made up of gold, gleaming sands, surrounded by a rich, azure-colored ocean. In the distance I could barely make out another land, shrouded by a dark grey mist.

This is where the story of our lands begins. Listen well, and ask few questions. They will be answered in the end. But first we shall show you our Founders, and then you will know us and who we are all the better. Several voices half-whispered in perfect synchronization.

"What is this?" I said aloud, completely ignoring the voice's command. I received no verbal answer, but my surroundings shimmered slightly and then dissolved, and a new scene began to paint itself around me. I watched as a slightly wooded, somewhat hilly valley came into being, and four distant figures were steadily coming closer into my view. Then the scene changed ever so slightly, and the figures were only a few blocks away from me, standing at the top of a hill. There were three men and one woman, all looking to be in their early twenties, in that company, and at once I could tell that they were related, even though they looked nothing alike. The foremost in the group was a strong and relatively handsome-looking man, his chiseled features and piercing grey eyes catching my attention the most. He carried himself like a king, even though he was dressed in unassuming clothing. It was then I realized he was the man I had seen in the paintings inside the Historian's Guild building. The one standing just to his right was a bit taller than he was, but was a little thinner and fairer-skinned than his brother. His eyes were an intelligent, bright green, and they swept his surroundings as if creating strategies for crossing the valley in the most efficient time. Another eye-catching part of him was his surprisingly dark brownish-red hair, which framed his face in unruly curls. Then, slightly past him stood the only woman in their company, her skin the color of caramel and her long, wavy hair only a shade darker. Unlike the others in their plain garb, she was dressed in elaborate robes dyed with all sorts of exotic colors, the underlying gold accents complimenting her golden-brown eyes well. She had a knowing look on her face, a look of someone beyond her years, but also a look of someone who was never all that open. By her side was the last member of the group, the shortest and palest of the foursome, who gazed at his companions with a small smile on his face. He looked to be the happiest of them all, his shaggy black hair blowing in the breeze as he gazed ahead with a faraway look in his black-brown eyes.

_These are the Founders, the ones we owe our cities, our heritage, and our cultures to. The foremost of them is the Founder of Obsidia, the city in which you currently are. Though it is in a sad state - t_he voices added unhappily,_ It was once something truly awe-inspiring. His descendents were philosophers and artisans, people of high intelligence but little desire for anything practical, or anything of a bellicose nature. It was only recently they turned to the arts of war._

_The one close by him is the Founder of Paulester Forestam, or, those who live there call it, the Great Swamplands. Their republic is truly a formidible opponent, as they have some of the most brilliant strategists and fighters around. It still stays this way, and, should one travel there, one ought to watch their back and be alert, for they are also known for their deceptiveness and their cunning._

_The lady of the four is the Founder of the Forgotten City. Not much is known about her, or about what has become of her people. There are rumors that the people of the city still live on, even the Founder herself. But those are just rumors._

_And the last one… _the voice let out a saddened sigh, _though he was fated to be a Founder, he fell to ruin before he could establish his people. He disappeared after failing to end a conflict between the other two male Founders, and hasn't been seen since. It paused before continuing, But that tale is for another time. Let us focus for now on the Founder of Obsidia, who went by the name of Horatius Lepidus._

All went silent for a space, and then the area around me faded away, leaving me standing in whiteness a few seconds before another scene built itself around me, this time the young city of Obsidia. I witnessed it grow and the seasons change, new people coming into power and passing the throne on, and the city, as a whole, grow more and more prosperous. Then everything gave the impression of slowing down to regular time, and I stood in front of the building made of glass and glowstone, which I had come to know as the Imperator's Tower, watching a young woman stalk out the front doors, about to slam them when a man I assumed was her father followed her out, as angry looking as she was.

"Tiberia, you are being foolish! Can you not understand a simple command? That boy will bring nothing but ruin upon us! Stop trying to befriend him, as it will do none of us any good in the end. Not even you. We must do our best to rid ourselves of him, at worst, turning him towards Paulester Forestam, at best he will meet his demise at our hand."

The young woman, who looked to be the same Tiberia who had written that journal I had found, glared at her father over her shoulder, hissing, "You know nothing about him, father. You have always been suspicious of those not of our kind, but he is different. I know you have no regard for our friendship, but I refuse to betray the one I call my best and dearest friend." Her determined eyes met her father's, and, slowly, he looked away, his fury replaced with bitterness and sorrow.

"Tiberia, you have always been strong-willed. Go on, then, and see how your friendship with an outsider will be the end of us." He walked away, leaving Tiberia with a look of triumph on her face. But there was a hint of doubt in her eyes, and I could tell her father's words were making her think.

All of the sudden, I was thrown into darkness, and for a moment was able to do nothing other than listen to the screams of dying civilians and the sounds of fighting. Then fire and ruined buildings sprung up around me, and I was repulsed and horrified to see barely recognizable forms of dead Users around me, and the vapour from dead mobs blurred my vision and distorted everything. Then my eyes refocused on someone in the distance, holding twin swords that seemed to be made from shimmering dark purple energy, which, upon closer inspection, were shot through with veins of a sickly yellow color. I couldn't see the person wielding the weapons clearly; they seemed to be cloaked in shadow.

It was then I heard a voice, beaten, frightened and weary, say in a horrified whisper, _There was fire. Smoke. It was as if the Nether had risen to merge with our town. Unspeakable things happened that night, horrible cruelties of such a dark nature I dare not describe them. My brother was slaughtered before me, and my own eyes witnessed him, the killer. He is not from our world. His power and the unnatural hatred in his eyes could rival only the hate of the other name I dare not speak, but this seems more... Deadly. This demon means to kill us all. And if he is not stopped, there will be no survivors._

At that moment, the dark figure turned to face me, and I saw two glowing, sickly yellow eyes, eyes that pierced me to the core and filled me with terror. Those horrible, awful eyes were hypnotizing, beautiful in a terrible way. The eyes I knew belonged to a twisted version of the strange being who I had met but days ago.

Then the scene began to change again, but, to my surprise, I felt something begin to fight it. I heard a few garbled words before those were stifled, and then felt a chillingly cold presence surround me, and heard a malicious whisper, hissing, _Do not meddle in things greater than you, User. It will be your demise. _Then it reverted back to the image of Glitch destroying the towns, and his eyes now seemed even more full of malice than before. It was then I noticed that his swords were covered in blood and gore, and he himself was actually a shadow of himself, and that it was not just the lighting.

Everything went dark except for those eyes, and I heard a scream I vaguely recognized as my own as I was thrown back into the present. I was clutching the book like a lifeline, and Anka was looking at me like I'd gone crazy. Crassus had a knowing smile on his face, which annoyed me, as I had good reason to be irked with him.

"What _was_ that?" I asked him, awe and an underlying tone of undisguised fear in my voice.

"This book was a parting gift to me from a fellow historian, who also happened to be a part-time enchanter. He recorded many memories and prophecies within its pages, and managed to enchant it so that the reader could experience the history firsthand." Crassus replied, a small smile on his face. Then he grew serious again, saying, "Did it show you what you wished to see?"

"...Yes. And no." I said truthfully. But it wasn't just the mental image of Glitch I found disturbing. I felt as if I had only learned part of the story. The strange entity unnerved me.

Was it Glitch? Surely not, why would he show me the scene in which he is portrayed as a monster, yet block another memory? And what was that memory I could not see?

"... Shows what you need to see, not necessarily what you want." I tuned back in when I realized that Crassus was talking to me, sympathy showing only in his eyes.

"Well, I certainly learned that." I laughed somewhat uneasily.

There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence before I spoke up again, asking, "Is there any chance I could get a... tour or something of this place?"

"I suppose." Crassus heaved a sigh, trying his best to look annoyed but one could tell he was pleased that someone wanted to see the old building. "I might as well show you around. I expect you'll be here awhile, though."

"Believe me when I say I don't mind at all, sir." I replied with a grin.

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**Whaddya know; for once, I actually end the chapter on a somewhat happy note! XD**

**Okay, so sorry, but I actually figured out a way to divide the chapter into two sections, and I wasn't able to proofread this chapter before its posting. My parents sent me to some seminar where I have practically no free time, so... Yeah. Hope it's good enough for now. I gotta go, the next session is starting. I will post the next chapter soon after I leave the seminar, which will be in 2 days.**

**Oh, and this chapter may seem like a filler, but, believe me. I'd pay attention to the details here, as some of them will most likely prove to be important in the near future. Speaking of which, the next chapter will consist of drama, suspense, and - wait for it - an appearance of a character I am sure you all have missed, as well as three new characters!**

**Well, see you next chapter, guys!**


	11. The Founder's Sword

**Well, I'm finally getting chapter 10 up! :D Sorry for the lateness yet again; I seriously need to stop setting deadlines for myself. **

**During the time I was practically dormant on here, I was busy supporting one of my best friends in my area, whose younger brother had a seizure, the causes of which are still unknown. M, this chapter is dedicated to you. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you do, know that I'll always be there for you.**

**Stuff's starting to get intense, and next chapter you will see action! :D So excited... And boy, do I have some plot twists that will blow you away... You'll get to see them all soon, hopefully. :)**

**Keeping my A/N short, so here's Ch. 10! **

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I yawned, massaging my temples tiredly as I opened yet another book from the Old Manuscripts section, this one looking more promising than the last. I hadn't been sleeping well at all during my stay in Obsidia, and, when I did sleep, my dreams were of fire and of the ruined cities, each only varying slightly. Sometimes Glitch was in those dreams, and other times just burning buildings and flames and confusion. Needless to say, it was enough to make me never want to sleep again.

My eyes landed on the first page just as I heard a small baaaa. Looking up from the book, I saw a small, light grey colored lamb looking at me from a small distance. I smiled at it and got up, taking a break from my endless research. "Aren't you adorable," I told it, sitting down beside it and petting its head gently. I spent a few minutes playing with it when I heard rushed footsteps outside the door of the room, and got up, opening the door to come face to face with a young woman with slightly curly, startling white hair and piercing emerald green eyes. She jumped slightly, clearly not expecting to see me." Oh, sorry." She apologized, laughing embarrassedly, "I wasn't expecting to find anyone in here. Wait... You aren't from around here, are you? I certainly haven't met you before. I'm Nivea." She grinned, and it was then I noticed one of her eyes was slightly duller than the other.

"I'm Lucia. It's nice to meet you," I smiled, offering my hand.

She shook it, and then her expression turned slightly more serious as she asked, "By the way, have you-"

"Baaaa!" The little grey sheep trotted stiffly towards Nivea with affection in its eyes.

"Agnus! You naughty little sheep." Nivea bent down to pick him up, the lamb bleating happily at his reunion with his owner. "I told you to stay in my room." Nivea then turned to me, saying, "I apologize if he was distracting at all; Crassus doesn't care for him, but puts up with him because I'm one of the only people who can tolerate him most of the time. He has a way of trying to eat books..."

I noticed Parvus giving the bookshelves a hungry glance earlier, so I didn't find that so hard to believe. "It wasn't a problem. Actually, it was a welcome break from... everything."

"Doing research? Is there anything I can help with?" Nivea's tone became professional but remained pleasant as she spoke.

"Ah, not really. Unless you know much about the Founders." I said nonchalantly.

"Oh. That's more of Audria's field. She's been away for a few days, though. Last I heard of her, she was out trying to salvage books from Parvum and Latium." Nivea informed me, "Sorry."

I nodded, wondering how much longer I would have to wait before she got back. I'd already been in Obsidia for about a week, and I already had the feeling I ought to get out of there while I could.

"Well, I really ought to get going, and put Agnus in my rooms before Crassus gets word of his 'escape'." Nivea stated, her eyes flicking towards the hallway and then back to me.

"Nice to meet you," I told her as she left, and went back to my book.

For some reason, I found it hard to concentrate after that interruption. And it wasn't just the fact I was tired. I found myself getting up and walking towards the door of almost in a trance a couple of times, and I suddenly got a strange feeling that I could only identify as longing. As to what it was caused by, I couldn't tell. "What the Nether is this... I must be more exhausted than I thought." I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes tiredly. I looked at a clock on the only bare section of wall in the room, and it read well past midnight. No wonder I was in such a state. Closing the book for the last time that night, I left the Old Manuscripts section and headed back to my room.

Or, rather, intended to head back to my room. Instead of turning right, which lead to the small storage room I had claimed as my own during my stay there, I turned left. I felt as if I weren't fully in control of myself, and I wasn't sure what to think.

I didn't have time to wonder, either, as I stopped in front of a heavy oaken door, that looked to be locked. Then the area around the lock gleamed for a second, and the door groaned on ancient hinges as it swung out slowly.

At first, I wasn't sure what to think. The room was completely dark, and a cold draft wafted out and snaked around me, chilling me to the core. As I stood there, shaking, I heard a somewhat familiar voice say, «Go in, Lucia.»

Immediately, I found myself going into the cold, shadow-filled room against my reason, my feet scuffing against the ancient, dust covered stone. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the absence of light when I realized something was actually glowing. It was suppressed, but there was light.

That was when I realized that there was a pedestal in the center of the otherwise empty old room, and I walked over to it, intrigued. As I got closer -though it may have just been my imagination- the glow intensified, until I could make out the shape of a huge diamond broadsword, glowing with a bluish-white light. By the time I was halfway to the pedestal, the sword arose of its own accord, savagely ripping itself away from cobwebs and rapidly losing its dusty cover as it hovered, and then shot straight towards me.

I felt a scream working its way into my throat, but I was paralyzed as the weapon flew towards me, a deadly but beautiful projectile tailed with streams of blue-white light.

To my utter bewilderment, instead of ending my life, the enchanted weapon turned hiltfirst before slamming against the palm of my right hand, and somehow my hand curled around it, and I found myself looking into the shiny, flawless flat of the blade. My own stunned reflection stared back at me, but only for a fraction of a second. It then was replaced by the face of the Founder of Obsidia, Horatius Lepidus, whose countenance was grim but relieved.

"Thank the Aether you've found this place, User. I cannot spend much more time in contact with the Overworld." He paused for a space, continuing, "I cannot say much to you, Lucia, for it is not my place to do so. But I can warn you, and do my best to guide you in the right direction; for even I am not sure what lies ahead.

"You have been given this sword for a reason, child. The first and last person to wield the blade before you was I; even my son was not able to hold it. This blade has mostly lain forgotten for these many years between my time and yours, with only the historians to ensure it's safety. None of those who ascended the throne after me truly belonged their, no, they were not the true heirs. And now Aula has practically destroyed my city. You see, Lucia, what my city never understood was that my bloodline wasn't necessarily entitled to the throne. It was not the sword's design to be passed down through generations of my kin. It was made for people who were destined to be great."

He paused, and I immediately asked, "Is that my destiny?"

Horatius gave me a small smile, and replied, "Well, it's all up to you whether you choose to follow your destiny or not. You won't be able to choose now, but ere long you will be faced with a greater choice than those I had to make while founding my city.

"But that's enough about that. I don't have more than a few minutes to finish up telling you all that I know," I noticed at this time the brilliant image of him reflected in the sword was beginning to dim, "So I'd best get to the point. There are dark times ahead. And you, Lucia, must lead both the Nether, the Aether, and the Overworld out of it. It won't be easy, but-" Horatius cut himself off suddenly, and as his outline dimmed even more, he said urgently, "As much as it pains me to say this, get out of my corrupted city as soon as you can. Seek out Paluster Forestam, as I have seen that my brother's descendants are far better men than my own." Horatius face grew sad as his reflection grew even dimmer. Basically shouting the last part, though I heard it as a whisper, "Whatever you do, be on your guard, User. Trust no one. Don't even trust yourself."

Then with a small flash of light, I was staring back at my own reflection. Shaking slightly, I inspected the blade while wondering over the words of Horatius Lepidus. What had he meant by his parting words? I felt as if he'd wanted to say something more subtle, but was stopped, somehow. I found something inscribed in a language foreign to me on the other flat of the blade, and, just as I laid eyes on them, the runes flashed and became words, reading, 'May he who is worthy claim this blade'. But the inscription corrected itself, oddly enough, and then read, 'She who is worthy of it, shall wield it.'

Now that was odd. Either this thing was more heavily enchanted than I thought, or I really needed to get some rest. Deciding that both were probably valid answers, I stuffed the sword into my inventory and left the room, coming face-to-face with Crassus.

"So you've been in there." It was a statement, but also a question. He knew, and was trying to see whether I'd lie or not.

"Yes." I said simply, offering no more information.

Crassus sighed, and looked me straight in the eyes. They were filled with experience and knowledge, kindness and sadness. "I am not going to ask you to tell me what happened in that room, nor do I wish to know. But be safe." He said sincerely, withdrawing something from his inventory. He handed a book to me, a book I recognized as the enchanted one that he'd let me "read" the first day I was here. "This may be useful to you. I hope it will be, for I have a feeling you'll be adding to it yourself."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement, but took it nevertheless, thanking him for his gift.

"Don't thank me, Lucia. It belongs to you now, at least, for the time being. From what I've learned about this book, it truly 'belongs' to no one."

And with that, he left me in the hall, leaving the lifeless moon's eerie light my only company.

I stumbled back towards my room, collapsing on my small bed without a sound. I wanted to believe this was all a dream; that I'd wake up the next morning in my "fortress" with the memory of Glitch, hot pink creepers, and everything having to do with this strange adventure be nothing but a bad dream. Allowing sleep to take me, I wished with all my heart I knew what was to come.

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Aula looked out over her city from her obsidian tower, looking out at the silent streets below. There were no torches lit save for the ones needed for regulations, and the streets were completely silent.

Except for the Historian's Guild. That building irked her. It would have to go soon, as soon as the old fool Crassus finally died. Then it would be only a matter of hours before it got razed.

A small knock on the door of her chambers alerted her to a visitor, and she called, "Let yourself in. It's open."

The metal door swung open almost silently, and the official-sounding clack of boot heels against her polished obsidian floor alerted her as to whom her visitor was.

"My lady." Came the quick but quiet greeting.

"Celer." Aula acknowledged him, adding, "How goes everything in the city?"

"Well enough." Celer said vaguely, but Aula could tell that he was troubled about something.

"What is it?" She turned to look at him, her icy blue eyes sharpening as she looked at him.

"I believe that we've had an unauthorized visitor." Celer stated carefully.

"What?! When did you find out about this, and where are they?" Aula exclaimed, advancing almost aggressively towards her second-in-command.

Backing up slightly, Celer replied, "Just a few hours ago. Something... Odd was going on over at the Historian's Guild. And then I learned that the gates have been opened recently, without any authorized permission."

"Indeed? Who let them in, and how long ago?"

"We're still trying to find out, my lady." Celer's hazel eyes displayed his sincerity and caution.

"Very well. Find out as much as you can, as quickly as possible, and send about three or four troops from the 3rd regiment over to that old, crumbling ruin in the morning." Aula ordered.

"Might I lead them myself? There are certain things... I'd like to see for myself." Celer chose his words carefully.

"As you wish." Aula shrugged, not really caring if he went with them or not, as long as orders are being followed.

Just then, Aula swayed slightly, closing her eyes as she was beginning to feel nauseous.

"Are you all right, my lady?" Celer asked cautiously, approaching Aula and guiding her to one of her steel chairs.

"I'll be fine. Just... Leave me..." Came a faint reply.

Celer nodded and exited the room swiftly, closing the door with barely a sound. Once outside of the room, a small smirk grew on his face as he walked away, his eyes flashing feral and yellow for a space. Everything was going perfectly.

* * *

**Nivea belongs to BlackDragon41**

**Answers to questions to my characters:**

**Question (as asked by MCSheepLover for Lucia): What do you think about Glitch?**

**Answer: **

**(Lucia): Uhm... Well, I'm not really sure right now. I'm confused about a lot of things, and he's someone I'm not sure what to make of...**

**Question (As asked by Anthai11 for Crassus): Why do ya have to be smirking all the time? It makes ya seem arrogant.**

**Answer: **

**(Crassus): Excuse me, young man, but I do not "smirk". I merely find other people's ignorance amusing.**

**(Me): ...Yeah. He is a bit arrogant. XD**

**...**

**I suppose I ought to close now, so see you guys next chapter!**


	12. Running Out of Time

**Hey guys! I am finally done with Chapter 11. I am so, so sorry for the incredibly long wait. I could name a thousand legitimate excuses as to why I didn't update sooner, but I'll spare you the details. I will, however, share with you that I wrote three different drafts for this chapter, one of which was over 9 pages long (until I realized I really should cut down on it. XD). Therefore this chapter has been a thorn in my side for almost two months, and it is with great relief and pride I present Chapter Eleven to you: Running Out of Time (for lack of a better name, again. Curse you, Chapter 11! XP)**

* * *

_"What have I done?"_

I awoke with a jolt, looking about my room disorientedly. Finally realizing where I was, I let out a relieved sigh and sank back against my pillow, sighing. The dream I'd had that night was more intense and more terrifying than all the ones prior. It seemed to combine all my previous nightmares into one big, terrifying vision - but that wasn't the worst part.

_What have I done? _Those words were filled with disbelief, guilt, and self-hatred. And I knew the voice of the one who had spoken all but too well.

Glitch.

The User -or, well, whatever he is- had killed hundreds of people in cold blood, for seemingly no other reason than to bring conflict and bloodshed into relatively peaceful lands. But the way he said those words didn't make him sound like much of a killer. It almost sounded as if he wasn't in control of what he'd done. Could someone - or something - be controlling him? And if so, why?

I lost track of time as I pondered my dream, but my reverie was rudely interrupted by heavy breathing and loud footsteps that sounded from outside my door. I got up quickly and threw open the door just in time to see Valerius, heavily armed and clearly out of breath sprint in the direction of Crassus' office.

_What's going on? _I wondered, jogging after him. As I ran, I noticed crimson colored liquid dotting the floor, and my confusion quickly turned to worry.

As soon as I reached the entrance to his office, I could hear a very out of breath voice finish exclaiming, "...need to get out of here!"

"What in Minecraftia are you going on about, Valerius? What's happening? War?" Crassus immediately jumped to the extreme.

Valerius let out a humorless laugh, "No, but they're acting like it is. Aula found out I let a stranger into the city, and has jumped to conclusions. She's convinced that I'm helping a spy or some such nonsense, and has connected you, Anka, and Nivea to this "crime". We don't have much time before she sends a squadron here after us. I was already assaulted on my way to warn you, as you can see." I came into the room just as Valerius gestured at his shoulder, where an arrow had lodged itself between the plates of his iron armor. The metal around it was stained with blood, and the sight of it made me feel more threatened than ever. They were willing to kill me and others who'd helped me while I was here, all because of their suspicious natures.

"Where's Anka?" Crassus asked, worry clear on his features.

"She left to try and find Audria yesterday. She's safe, to the best of my knowledge."

"Then on to other matters. I assume the gates are being closely guarded?"

"Yes."

"There's another way out, right? Tunnels, perhaps?" I cut in hopefully.

"Tunnels... Why, yes... But they haven't been used since the Third Wars. Who knows where they are now?" Crassus sounded slightly frustrated.

"So... You don't know how to access them?" Valerius spoke up, interrupting the historian's train of thought.

"I'm almost sure I don't know where they are. Or if I did know, I've forgotten," Crassus said slowly, his frown deepening, "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Valerius snapped, his anxiety making him irritable.

"Give an old man some time to straighten his thoughts out, guardsman! I've been around for a long while, and my memory's not as good as it used to be..." Crassus replied tartly, just as irritated looking.

Valerius begrudgingly complied, looking out the window of Crassus' office in a paranoid fashion while chomping on an apple. I stared at the volumes on the shelves, trying to calm myself down but failing utterly.

"...I might know where the entrance to the tunnels from this building is-" Crassus started to say slowly, but was quickly interrupted by Valerius.

"Thank Notch! Where to?" the guardsman exclaimed, at once ready to move.

"-However, I am not completely sure if we can still access it." Crassus finished, adding, "Truthfully, there's only a small chance we'll escape this mess alive."

"Huh? What's going on?" Just then, Nivea stuck her head through the doorway of the room, confused and looking like she'd woken up just minutes ago. Agnus trotted in beside her, looking at all of us with wide, curious eyes.

Valerius briefed her on the current situation with as few words as possible. Her face grew dim, and even Agnus could tell that something bad was going on.

"A chance isn't enough. Is there any other more certain alternative?" Nivea asked, looking uncomfortable.

"No. Look, we're going to die anyway if we just sit around and do nothing, so better to be following a false hope," Valerius said blatantly, and then turned to Crassus, "Lead the way, old man."

88888888

After quite a few flights of stairs and a couple of confusing detours, Crassus stopped in front of an old, closed door, which had clearly warped in a strange manner; it had somehow welded itself to the doorframe at the top.

"Now what?" I asked irately; clearly, Valerius' current attitude was starting to rub off on me.

"Well, we-" Nivea was about to suggest something when Valerius stepped a bit closer to the door, his mood changing from doubtful to serious.

"The solution is simple. We break the door down." Before anyone could object, he ran at the door, full-speed, and slammed his shoulder into it with great force. The ancient wood splintered almost instantly and flew out in all directions; I covered my face and neck with my arms as the debris hit me, stinging my bare skin and occasionally embedding themselves in my clothes.

When at last all the woodchips had fallen, I let my arms fall to my sides and looked around, noting thankfully that no one seemed harmed in the least bit, save Agnus had nearly been buried in debris.

"You just destroyed a piece of history!" Crassus exclaimed angrily, "That door was over 500 years old!"

"Never mind the door. What is this place?" Nivea wondered aloud, walking towards the newly-made opening. As his owner moved away from him, Agnus let out a loud bleat and did his best to excavate his way out of the pile surrounding him, getting more wood chips caught in his fur than before. I found myself grinning as he trotted up besides Nivea, prickly as a silverfish and looking quite proud of himself.

Just as I started after them, I heard Valerius exclaim, "By the Aether! Just look at all of this!"

When I walked into the room, I was amazed by what surrounded me. Relics of a bygone age were crammed in there by the hundreds; splendid suits of armor, all in beautiful condition, bordered the walls, all sorts of weapons rested in stands or were secured to well-made plaques on the walls, and peculiar trinkets of varying face value lay on grand wooden pedestals.

"It's all beginning to come back to me…" Crassus muttered, speaking more to himself than anyone else. The rest of us were too busy gawking at all the riches around us to pay much attention to him.

Even though I knew we had no time to spare, I started to drift around, completely overwhelmed by the splendorous sight that enveloped me.

"We ought to equip ourselves while we're here," Valerius suggested, eyeing a set of beautiful - and clearly enchanted - gold armor longingly.

"Take what you need, and more. It won't be of any use to anyone else," Crassus replied, breaking away from the group, clearly deep in thought.

Taking his words to heart, I almost tipped over a stand of magnificently wrought iron armor in my haste to equip it.

When I'd grabbed everything useful - and a few other pretty baubles - within my reach, something strange caught my eye. At a glance, it seemed to be a diamond gauntlet, dull with age and disuse but still glinting faintly. With every step I made towards it, it grew a bit brighter. I noted this oddity just as the iron gauntlet on my right arm unfastened and fell to the floor with a loud clang. I bent to pick it up, but just as my fingers brushed the metal, the gauntlet _disappeared_.

Surprised and a little confused, I stood back up, turning back towards the stand. To my utter bewilderment, it was now empty. All that remained was its outline on the dusty pedestal.

It didn't take me very long to figure out where it went.

A flare of bluish-white light from my right arm caused me to look down in surprise. Somehow, the strange piece of armor had rematerialized on my right forearm, glowing so brightly it was blinding. It began to pulse, sending waves of energy and adrenaline rocketing through my being. I was actually beginning to feel like I could take on anything that came my way when the sensation died away somewhat, leaving me slightly disappointed.

It was then I realized the gauntlet was definitely _not _made of diamond. As ridiculous as it sounded, it seemed to have been made of light. I could see through the armor slightly, but couldn't put my hand through it to touch the skin of my forearm beneath. There was a pattern or a symbol of some sort on the armor as well, but it was so faded I could not make out what it was supposed to be.

"Blast it! I don't remember this being so hard to unlock!" Crassus' irritated voice echoed loudly in the large room, causing me to flinch. Not too far from me, I spotted him fiddling with what looked like an old carving or wall decoration. As I approached him, I noticed that it was indeed a wooden carving depicting the old crest of Obsidia: In the center a man -the detail on his carving made him seem lifelike- standing on top of a mountain with a look of determination on his face, one hand on the pommel of his sword and the other holding a map as he looked out over the rest of the world. Directly underneath this carving, the words "Devotiovincitpoténtia" were inscribed, slightly worn with age.

"Dedication conquers might…" I found myself whispering, not sure how I knew the words.

"Obsidia's values have changed quite a bit, don't you think?" Crassus' voice cut through my thoughts, causing me to jump.

"I would say so…" I started as I watched him press parts of the carving in. I noted that the man's head, the sword, the map, and the mountain could be pressed, and were meant to be pressed in a certain order, but it was clear the historian was having trouble remembering the order.

Just as I was about to offer him some assistance, a loud explosion sounded from not too far away, the vibrations from it knocking me off my feet and nearly beating me senseless.

"Uhh... What the Nether was that?"

* * *

**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Bet you didn't see _that_ coming, did you? (What? No! I definitely did not eat a bowl of chocolate ice cream while finishing this A/N... XD) Hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter in 1-2 weeks, if my schedule calms down a bit (and if the chapter is easy to write - which, I suspect it will be.) Wish me luck! :)**

**Answers to Ch. 11 Q's:**

**Question (As asked by InfinityGuardien for Lucia): Are you excited about being "destined for greatness?" Or are you some what worried about the responsibilitys etc…**

**Answer (Lucia): Well… I don't really know how to describe how I feel about it. I'm excited, sure, as this is the biggest thing that's happened to me my entire life, but I am not sure what I'm up against, or what I'm gonna do that will make me great… *long silence as she ponders her fate***

**Question (As asked by InfinityGuardien for Herobrine): Why are you being so creepy? It's starting to worry some people?**

**Answer (Herobrine): I don't know what you're talking about… 0.o *genuine innocence***

**Question (As asked by Anthai11 for Notch): Notch, what do you think about Glitch, Lucia, and everybody else? You MUST (winkwinknudgenudge) be 'following' the story. ;}**

**Answer (Notch): Good question. In order to keep from revealing too much, though, I do believe my answers might be more vague than you'd have liked. And yes, I am indeed following this interesting group of people… What in Minecraftia do you mean by story, by the way? ^^;**

**-Opinion of Lucia: She's a goodhearted User with a lot of talent and potential, though it's clear she has a lot to learn before she's ready for any real challenges. I only hope she has that kind of time before she's thrown into any of those situations…**

**-Opinion of Glitch: He's a sick creature, who clearly needs to be put down for everyone's safety and well-being.**

**-Opinion of Anka: She's a kind User with a lot of experience and street smarts to boot. I wish her and Valerius well.**

**-Opinion of Valerius: He's been through more than he lets on, and is fiercely loyal to those he trusts and loves. He's a hero himself, in his own sort of way. That doesn't mean he always makes the right decisions, though. Not in the least.**

**-Opinion of Crassus: He's a brilliant historian, though he is a bit arrogant at times. It's odd, though. He vaguely reminds me of someone…**

**-Opinion of Nivea: She's sweet and gentle, hiding her grief behind her kindness and generosity. One could not have a better friend.**

**-Opinion of Aula: A very, very misguided child. *sigh* It's a shame, really.**

**-Opinion of Celer: Something's off about that boy…**

**-Opinion of Anguis: Honestly, the fact that he _exists _confuses me. I don't really know what to tell you.**

**-Opinion of Herobrine: Well, he's my brother. We… don't exactly see eye to eye a lot of the time, but that's the case with most siblings.**

**( I think that's all the Users we've met so far… *whew*)**


End file.
